The Reaper's Ascent
by Kiki-chan78
Summary: Xover Harry Potter & WK. 'Enter the Reaper' pt. 3. Nanjiro's dating Naoe Nagi? What about Schu? Watari and Draco are still partnered, and are on vacation in Gensoukai. How much trouble can they get into? Plenty. Coauthor Yanagi sen. Chapter 8 up! Yaoi.
1. Whooo! Vacation!

Closing up the box, the shinigami whistled merrily. This should be the last thing that needed to be taken care of before he and Draco left for their vacation. It had taken a while, and lots of nagging, but Tatsumi finally relented and gave them the week off. Then again, it wasn't as though he or Draco had taken a true vacation in the past two years that the reaper had been in Japan. Smiling, Watari thought about the boxes of Pocky he was sending anonymously to Taka at Hogwarts... His brother might be considerate, but he had a sneaking suspicion that the teen would enjoy those about as much as he did the chocolate frogs.

"Watari? Are you ready yet?"

Author's notes:

For all intents and purposes, god's of death from Britain are technically called 'Reapers' instead of 'Shinigami' (makes sense, different culture... different language, hence different name). This fic is a continuation of 'Enter the Reaper' and 'The Reaper's Journey'.

Disclaimer: Yanagi-sen and I are only borrowing the characters from Yami no Matsuei and Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter books to torment for a while... Don't look for Harry to be appearing at any time in this fanfiction. We claim no ownership over any character that does not belong to us... Itami Korin and Ishida Nanjiro are mine... those I claim and abuse at will.

The Reaper's Ascent.  
Chapter one.

"Hei, just let me send the owl off..." Turning towards the pristine white bird, the blonde felt more than a little sorry for it... because there was also a chemistry book for the wizard in that box. "I told Snape-san that we will be out for a week, and to please not send any owls for the time... since I truly don't want to come back and find a dead bird on our doorstep."

"Someone would take care of it. Tsuzuki or Wakaba are softies for things in need."

The older blonde looked down and picked up Puss... who looked like he was about to start stalking the owl. "But still it would be neglectful..."

"True..." The smaller blond walked into the room, carrying a small bag. "Are you sure this is all I'll need? I mean... I know you said they would supply us with clothes, but..."

Watari handed the shiki over to it's master. "Yes, I am positive... this is will not be like when you went on Puss's challenge... "

"Thank goodness." He held his shiki close petting him absently. "That was... a nightmare."

"This time, we will be mainly in the area controlled by Sohryu... the water dragon." The older blonde commented as he sent the owl off through the window.

"A dragon? Really?"

"Hei."

"Wow... and I'll get to see him?"

"Well, you will definitely see his children..."

"He has dragonlets?"

Picking up his own bag, the shinigami thought for a moment, "I suppose that they could technically be called that."

"Interesting."

There was a knock at the door before Nanjiro happily let himself in and started to set up his laptop, "We have to do this quick... I have a date soon with Naoe-kun."

"Naoe... isn't he that young brunette?"

The blue haired shinigami flipped a victory sign, "Hai! Young, brunette, sexy as all heck... incredible blue eyes that I could lose myself in... Shy too. Makes me want to just drag him to the nearest horizontal surface and..."

"I am glad you like him," Watari interrupted before Nanjiro could say anything more intimate.

Draco was smirking. Very occasionally could he get Watari to be intimate beyond their sleeping in the same bed. It amused him how embarrassed the scientist could be, especially in the wake of what had happened a few years ago.

/wait, you still don't know?/ Nanjiro asked telepathically as he started hitting in coordinates on the laptop.

/know what?/ He'd gotten better at mental speech, although he couldn't initiate conversation.

/why Watari is so damn Uber conservative when it comes to sex.../ Mismatched green eyes concentrated on the screen/come on, no one is that much of a boy-scout all the time.../

/something bad must have happened to him... but he doesn't wish to talk about it, and I didn't want to pry./ And maybe make him want me to go away.

/forget it, he loves you too much to want you to go away. when you get back, I _might_ tell you what the 'boy-scout' is all about,/ Nanjiro winked as the gate opened.

/stop answering my unvoiced thoughts.../ "Have fun with your sexy brunette!"

When the two were gone, Nanjiro started to pick up his things... fun with my sexy brunette, eh? But of course, that is if his guardian lets him out with me tonight... especially with what I have planned. The blue haired shinigami smirked. Yup, this was going to be a really fun evening.

---

An elaborately dressed teen greeted Watari and Draco when they arrived. Bowing politely, he introduced himself to the reaper as Kijin. Draco had to admit... the teen's robes were exquisite. Finally, people who knew how to dress. Excitedly, Puss jumped off of the teen's shoulder and darted off into a pack of similar shiki's. "Oh... family?"

Kijin gave Draco a curious look as he led them into the palace, "Does it seem odd that a shikigami would have family?"

"No... I guess not. I've never seen any others before."

The blue haired teen gave a refined laugh, "You have seen them, but were not able to identify them..."

"I don't understand."

"Years ago, when you were on the challenge issued by your guardian... Suzaku was there, and claims that you looked right at her."

"Suzaku?" Draco flicked some hair out of his eyes. He had allowed it to grow a little longer and didn't slick it back anymore.

Kijin nodded, "Yes, she is one of Tsuzuki-san's shikigami."

"Oh. I heard Tsuzuki has a lot of shikigami." Stopping suddenly, Kijin took a few steps backwards and guided Watari and Draco back as well before a man wearing dark clothes and a visor landed explosively in front of them. The man leapt high into the air away from them narrowly avoiding the woman attacking him with a sword which was almost as large as she was. Draco watched with huge eyes. "Wow..." Now THAT is a sexy man...

Watari just chuckled, "Those two still aren't getting along..."

"Still? How long has this been going on?"

"Since about the time that Touda tried to kill Tsuzuki." The shingami responded.

"Why did Touda do that?"

"Because Tsuzuki asked him to."

"But..." Draco looked confused. "I guess it must be personal." Once shown to their room, their escort excused himself, but informed them that if they needed to locate him, his room was in the next hallway. The Reaper looked around the room, pleased. "This is nice!"

Dropping onto the oversized bed, Watari sighed, "hei... it is."

Draco took a deep breath and could feel all the tension and stress falling off of him. "Vacation..."

"Was the... Dragonling... all that you expected of him?"

"What dragonling?"

A dismissive motion was made in the direction of the door, "Kijin... even though he might take offense to the term."

"Kijin?! THAT was a dragon?!"

"Wait, what were you expecting him to look like?" Watari sat up on the bed where he had previously been lounging.

"Like a... a dragon!"

"What else is he supposed to look like, if not a dragon."

"He looked like a person... a dragon looks like... well... a dragon. Do dragons here change form?"

"Not all, only the more powerful ones do..."

"Oh... I didn't know that. Dragons in Europe are very different."

The older blonde nodded, "I would imagine so... even if their ancestry is similar, there is enough time and distance for any differences to become more marked."

The teen wandered over and flopped on the bed. "oooh... soft."

Rolling over, the shinigami draped one arm across the slender blonde. "Much nicer than the full-size back at home," he murmured into Draco's ear.

The Reaper shivered, the scientist's voice affecting him the way it always did. "oh yes... bigger..."

"i wish something like this would fit in the house..." he halfway sulked.

"I know... but smaller beds are fun too. Cozier." He turned his head and smirked.

Watari pulled Draco closer and nuzzled into the teen's neck. "wakatta..."

The smaller blond sighed. He loved this, Watari was so gentle... it made him that much hotter. Unfortunately, unlike him, the shinigami didn't have to deal with rampaging teenage hormones. "mmmph... do we have to be anywhere soon?" He took his turn nuzzling and kissing Watari's neck.

"hmmm...not that i know of..."

"Oh good." Draco smirked and pounced, kissing the shinigami all over. Yelping, Watari squirmed delightfully under the enthusiastic onslaught from his partner. The smaller blond squirmed, sighing at the wonderful friction. The clothing was getting in the way though.

Catching the teen's mouth in a deep kiss, the older blonde let his fingers slip up under the hem of Draco's shirt a few centimeters. The Reaper arched his back and shivered. He traced the inside of Watari's lips with his tongue. Sliding a hand up inside the shirt, the shinigami rubbed pebble hard nipples... Draco whimpered, impatiently he sat up, straddling the older blond. He started undoing the buttons to his shirt, intent on removing it as quickly as possible.

Sitting up, Watari started to kiss up his partner's neck. The teen let the shirt fall open. He carded his fingers through the long golden hair. "oooh... that's nice." Latching onto a nipple, Watari wrapped his arms around the reaper and pulled the slender form closer as he suckled and nipped at the sensitive bud of flesh between his lips. "Aaah..." He arched again, shivering. "Feels good."

Running hands up and down Draco's back, the shinigami shifted his attention to the other nipple.

"Hmmmm..." He wiggled his rear in Watari's lap. Moaning, Watari ground his still trapped erection against the sexy rear in his lap. "Oh... too many... clothes..."

"Then lets get rid of them..." Watari said in a hurried whisper as he nibbled on the teen's neck.

"Ok..." Draco rolled off to the side and started to work on his pants.

Smirking, Watari started to work on his own clothes that had become far more restricting than he originally remembered them being. Draco finished peeling off his pants and tossed them onto the floor. He stared at Watari hungrily. With a full body blush, the older blonde got the rest of the clothes off. The smaller blond smirked. He started to crawl back up the bed, like a panther stalking his prey.

In Draco' opinion, this was something that they did with too little frequency. The wait made it all the better, but all the time between sex? It was almost enough to drive a teen insane. Kneeling beside the scientist, he leaned in close. Looking up at the shinigami through the platinum bangs, he started to lavish the same attention he had received to the pale chest. With a moan, the shinigami shivered under the reaper's incredible touch. Draco pulled Watari down to lay next to each other. He twined their legs, rubbing his heel up the back of the scientist's calf.

Chuckling, the older blonde looked at the teen and started to go after a few spots he remembered as being sensitive on the boy's neck. The Reaper moaned loudly, arching his back so their members rubbed. "aaah..." Gasping, Watari's hand traveled down the teen's stomach and slowly traced a line up, down and around the heated member. Draco whimpered. One hand tangled in the long blond hair, pulling the scientist's head back so he could kiss him ravenously.

Allowing himself to be led, the shinigami nearly purred at the kisses...

Once he had the shinigami's mouth, his hand slid down the length of that trim body. He slipped that questing hand between them, seeking out the older blonde's erection. Hips bucked forward involuntarily as the shinigami moaned in pleasure at the touch. Draco teased him for a bit, with fleeting touches and gentle strokes. Moaning, the older blonde ground his erection lightly against the teen's... Draco jerked. "OH!" He reached down and grabbed Watari's hip, pulling him closer.


	2. Fun in bed and the mall!

Author's notes:

For all intents and purposes, god's of death from Britain are technically called 'Reapers' instead of 'Shinigami' (makes sense, different culture... different language, hence different name). This fic is a continuation of 'Enter the Reaper' and 'The Reaper's Journey'.

Disclaimer: Yanagi-sen and I are only borrowing the characters from Yami no Matsuei and Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter books to torment for a while... Don't look for Harry to be appearing at any time in this fanfiction. Weiss Kreuz also seems to be making an appearance. Look for Schwarz, and don't expect the flower shop boys to be making any lengthy appearances... hmmm, is it obvious that the authors like the 'bad guys'? We claim no ownership over any character that does not belong to us... Itami Korin and Ishida Nanjiro are mine... those I claim and abuse at will.

The Reaper's Ascent.

Chapter two.  


Moaning, the older blonde ground his xxxxxxxx lightly against the teen's... Draco jerked. "OH!" He reached down and grabbed Watari's hip, pulling him closer.

Blushing slightly, Watari whispered into Draco's ear, "i hope you remembered to pack something we could use..."

The teen nodded. "its... in my bag..." He panted.

Long gentle fingers carefully wrapped around the younger blonde's xxxxxx and xxxx a few playful xxxxx. "sou desu..."

Draco groaned loudly. He tended to forget how loud he could get, and would then be embarrassed afterward. With his other hand, Watari lazily traced a line down the teen's jaw and smiled as he tried to remember where that bag had disappeared to...

The smaller blond turned his head and caught a couple of the fingers sliding along his cheek. He licked and then sucked on them.

Just watching and feeling the warmth of Draco's mouth on his fingers was almost enough to make about any person come... Removing the now slick fingers, the older blonde reached down and xxxxxxx to slowly xxxxxx one xxxxx into the teen's irresistibly xxxxx xxxxxxx. Draco whimpered. He clenched his eyes shut, grabbing at the sheets. Parting xxx xxxx, the Reaper xxxxxxx his xxxx on the bed allowing for xxxxxx.

Pulling back so he could see the reaper's reactions better, Watari xxxxxxx x xxx xxxxxxx xxxx xxxx welcoming xxxx.

"ooooh..." Draco moaned. He arched his back xxxx xxxxxx xxxxxxx to xxxxx.

Xxxxxxxxx his xxxxx xxxxxx xx and xxx xxxxxxx xxxxx, the shinigami xxxxxxx xx xxxx a xxxxxx xxxxx in xx xxxx... Xxxxxxxxx the xxx xxxxxxx to the xxxxxxx, Watari xxxxxx xxxxxxx his xxxxx...

"AH!"

Xxxxxxx xxx, a xxxxx carefully xxxxx the xxxxx two xx they xxxxxxxxx xxx xxxx xxxx xxxx.

"Oh... Watari..." Draco squirmed.

Xxxxx xxxxxxxxx xx xxx xxx of the xxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx of the xxxx's xxxx, Watari leaned down and xxxxxx xx the xxxxxxxxxx xxxx of xxxxxxxx that had xxxxxxxxxxx at the xxxx of the xxx's xxxxxxxx.

"yes... oh yes... please!" X xxxxx xxxx is xxxxxx xx the xxxxxx of the xxxx's xxxxx by the xxxxx xxxxxx's xxxxxx. Draco was xxxxxxx and xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxx now. He really didn't care WHAT happened, just as long as something happened soon.

Xxxxxx the xxxxxx xxxx his xxxxx, Watari xxxxx xxxxxxx xx xxxxxxx to xxxx xxx xxxx as xxxx xxxxxxxx as xxxxxxx, or as 'xxxxxxxx' as xxxxxxxx.

For Draco, that xxxx of xxxxxxxxxxx was xxxx xxxxxx the xxxxxxx he xxxxx xxxxxx xx. He was xxxxxx the xxxxxx with his xxxxxxx and he knew it. "Watari!"

Smiling around the xxxxxxxx between his xxxx, the shinigami took a peek up at the flushed features of his partner (in more ways than one...). The Reaper's breaths were shallow and rapid, fists buried in the sheets almost to the point of ripping them. Legs were quivering involuntarily. Draco was obviously xx xxx xxxxx. Xxxxxx his xxxxxxx with his xxxxx, the shinigami kept xxxxxxx at the same xxxx he had xxx for xxxxxxx.

Draco's lower back lifted completely off the bed as he xxxxxx xxxx into the xxxxxxxxx's mouth. Screaming the blonde's name, the teen xxxx.

Lapping up the xxxxx as though it were the sweetest of nectars, Watari xxxxxxxxx the xxxx's 'xxxxxxxx'... Draco sighed. "mmmm... but you..."

Blushing brightly, the older blonde smiled sheepishly at the reaper, "uhm, i'll... ah... take care of it..."

The teen shook his head. "Just give me a minute... if you could get the lube..."

Watari was about to get off the bed when he noticed a familiar tail poking out from under the bed. "Puss, would you?"

"Me? Why me?" The feline shikigami responded with a hint of annoyance and interestingly enough, amusement in his voice.

"Because I'm asking you... and I also brought along those treats you like so much..." There was silence for a moment... then the feline darted out, crossing the room, he started to dig into Draco's bag. The Reaper shook his head. The older blond sidled back up to his partner. "it worked, didn't it?"

"yeah... it did." He smirked when the tube appeared on the edge of the bed. The tube was picked up between nimble fingers. It had seen far less action than one certain reaper thought it should see... but no one was complaining at the moment. The slender blond squeezed a generous amount onto his hand. Watching Watari he slathered the lubricant over his newly awakened xxxxxxxx.

Large hazel eyes watched those slender hands with great interest. Draco xxxxxx himself lazily, looking at the shinigami the whole time.

Nipping at the teen's neck, Watari clasped a hand over Draco's and xxxxxx the xxxx xxxxxx himself. The Reaper moaned, the xxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx was incredible. "If you... oooh... keep that up, you'll have to wait even longer."

"and I certainly wouldn't want that..." Watari said as he held Draco's hand still.

The teen moaned. Stopping wasn't something he wanted either. "Need you."

Taking some of the lube himself, the older blonde reached between his own legs and xxxxxx a xxxxx past the xxxxx muscle found xxxxx. Xxxxxxx xxxxxxxx in xxxx, he kissed his partner as he xxxxxxxxx to xxxxxxx his xxxxxxxx. Draco shivers with excitement. The younger blond kissed back eagerly, wanting to sooth the shinigami's pain.

Moaning, Watari began xxxxxxxxx xx and xxx... trying to xxxxxxx the xxxxxxxxx xxxxxx.

It seemed like an eternity to Draco before his partner was xxxxx. He made sure his xxxxx was xxxxxxx.

Xxxxxxxxxx the xxxx's xxxx, the shinigami xxxxxxx his xxx xxxxxxx and felt something much larger xxxxx firmly against his xxxxxxxx. Slowly, and carefully, he began to xxxxxx himself xxxx Draco's xxxxxxxx xxxxx. The Reaper inhaled sharply, watching Watari with darkened silver eyes. "ooooh..."

Closing his eyes, the older blonde let his head fall back xx he xxxx in all of the xxxx's xxxxxx.

"Watari..." Draco tried not to xxxxxx xx xxxx the scientist xxxxxx he was xxxxx.

Once he was used to the xxxxxx xxxxxxxx, the older blond xxxxx... it was heaven to the teen. He gently xxxxxx his xxxx, xxxxxxx at the xxxx. Xxxxxxx xx almost all the xxx, Watari xxxxxx xxxx, xxxxxxx the xxxx xxxx xxxx... "aaaah..."

It felt like a gift, being able to xxxxx the scientist xxxxxx his xxxxxxxx.

The two of them spent what felt like an eternity condensed into only a few scant seconds, xxxxxx xxxxxxxx as the xxxxxxxxxx went xxxxxx... Anyone within hearing range would have no doubt about what they were doing. Draco wrapped his arms around the scientist's body, kissing him deeply to xxx to xxxxxx their xxxxx.

After a few moments their xxxxxxxxx became more xxxxxx, more xxxxxxx as the build to the xxxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx. Draco really tried to hold out for Watari to xxxx xxxxx, he tried. His body had taken over from his mind however and he broke their kiss, screaming his lover's name.

Feeling his entire body tighten, the older blondxxxxxxx involuntarily as his xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx across the reaper's xxxxxxx. Panting, he rolled the two of them onto their sides so that it would be easier to cuddle together. Draco groaned, protesting moving, but settled into the older blonde's arms contentedly. He nuzzled the muscular chest like a cat, snuggling in.

---

Running down the street with his bag slapping the middle of his back periodically from the jostling, Nanjiro skidded to a halt in front of the building where Nagi lived. The place was large, and not all that inviting. Not something that seemed too much out of place taking one of his boyfriend's guardians into consideration. Personally, that American spooked even him... then again, there were reasons that pre-cogs were never really fucked up enough to join his ranks... telepaths, that happened all the time, same for empaths, clairvoyants, and telekinetics. Pyro's were a special breed of fucked-up in his humble opinion though...

As Nanjiro walked across the posh lobby, one of the elevators dinged. The doors opened to reveal the brunette he had come to see. Nagi smiled slightly and waved him into the elevator. Jogging over, the shinigami slipped into the small metal enclosure and slipped his arms around the lithe brunette. "hey sexy..."

Right on cue, Nagi blushed. "hey..." The elevator started to lift, the floor button having apparently pressed itself.

"So... Crawfish is out of the country, right?" A brush at the teen's mind told him that the German WAS in... it was infuriating as all of Enma's domain not being able to really tell his lover what he was. This was actually a first... all his other boyfriends had been people that he had in one way or another ended up saving their lives. Nagi... well, he just had to say that the both of them should now worship a certain computer parts store cashier...

"Yes, he shouldn't be back for a week or so. Schu's here though." Nagi was starting to relax against him as they got away from the lobby and its public attention.

Nanjiro looked into those captivating midnight blue eyes and nearly drowned in their depths. It was times like this that he felt a fleeting urge to just reach out and wrap his hands around the teen's neck and strangle the life out of him so that they could spend the rest of eternity together... physically unchanging... both with those damn rampant teenage hormones! Sighing, he smiled at Nagi. There was nothing this side of damnation that would force him to harm the telekinetic, and he knew that it would be unfair to cut such a precious life short just because of his own hormones. He was also really really thankful for his shields that kept a certain nosy red-haired German out of his mind. Nibbling on his lower lip, Nanjiro studied Nagi's expression... "Let's get back to the pent house before I tell you what that big secret is..." he said in a hushed voice.

A bit of uncertainty and maybe even a hint of fear flashed through the brunette's eyes. "okay..."

Taking Nagi's hand into his own, the blue haired teen gently caught those tender lips.

The teen melted. They almost didn't hear the soft ping that announced their floor.

Cursing silently under his breath, Nanjiro led the delicious brunette out of the elevator.

Nagi had obviously left the door open when he'd come down to meet the shinigami. Once they entered, the brunette closed the door behind them, engaging the security system. "Schu is actually up in the rec room, he shouldn't bother us for a while."

Confidently Nanjiro sauntered into the apartment... and settled on the sofa. "And Farf is locked away?" Not that he had a problem with the Irishman, at least not after he had divulged the information that he was a follower of Sohryu.

"Yes, he recently got a new shipment of books, he's holed up in his room devouring them." Nagi sat down next to Nanjiro.

The shinigami took the teen's hands into his own and studied the long delicate fingers. "I know that you are a telekinetic..." he murmured.

Nagi jerked and tried to pull away, but his hands were trapped. "w...what are you talking about?"

"and that crawfish is a precog... schu is telepathic... "

The brunette was nearly hyperventilating. "ah... um..." He started to stutter, his heart fluttering.

"Nagi... breathe..."

"H... how... how did you... Oh gods... Crawford will kill me..."

Sighing, Nanjiro leaned towards the teen and shut him up in the most efficient way he could think of... At first Nagi stiffened, but gradually relaxed. His heart rate started to slow down to a more reasonable pace. Breaking from the kiss, the shinigami gave a small smile, "I was taken away from my family several years ago because my dad abused me..." the teen finally said after a short period of silence.

Still in shock, Nagi didn't really think before responding. "Mine left me... they didn't want a freak..."

"My dad said that he was going to beat the evil out of me..." Exhaling, he watched his (soon to be) lover's reaction.

Anger flickered in those midnight eyes. "It's not evil... to have a gift..."

"Nagi, love, I'm a telepath." He shifted closer and rested his chin on the teen's shoulder, "it's not something that I normally 'advertise'... and i'm not going to lie, i've been beaten up by past boyfriends because they found my abilities inherently creepy... and didn't want me 'pulling any of that mental shit' with them..."

"I don't think they are creepy..."

"thank you..."

Nagi hugged him tighter. "I would never hurt you..."

"never is an awfully long time." Nanjiro whispered into the telekinetic's ear before going after a sensitive spot on his collar.

The brunette shivered, his breath hitching. "oooh."

Sucking, the shinigami went hard at work to create the mother of all hickey's. Breaking a hold that would have made a plunger envious, Nanjiro smiled at Nagi, "besides, you should never make a promise that is impossible to keep," he winked.

The midnight eyes were slightly glazed. "I don't want to hurt you..."

Straddling Nagi's lap, the shinigami tilted the teen's face up towards him. "that, i can believe..."

The brunette blushed again, from the other teen's proximity. He opened his mouth, but couldn't think of anything to say. Cupping the back of the smaller teen's head, the blue haired teen leaned in and kissed him... questing for entrance to that succulent mouth. Nagi whimpered softly. His arms came up to wrap around the shinigami's back as his tongue tangled with Nanjiro's.

Lapping at the teen's mouth, the shinigami played with the hemline of Nagi's oversized shirt... in the back of his mind, the blue haired telepath made a mental note to take the boy out and get something that would look really hot, perhaps that would also look good crumpled at the edge of a bed... Hmm, he'd have to be careful with what he might try to put on Nagi though... didn't want to scare him. Nanjiro thought wickedly as his imagination offered several interesting views of what the teen could look like in the right clothing. The brunette was so reserved, so much like a small adult rather than a kid. It almost looked like he relied on the adults he lived with to pick his clothing for him. Nanjiro seriously wondered if he had ever gone shopping.

That was a question that could be answered immediately... /schuldig, has nagi ever seriously picked out his own clothes?/ he asked the older telepath... it wasn't like the man hadn't looked at him the first day that they met and immediately identified what he could do...

/Nagi? Set foot in a mall voluntarily? Of course not. Brad buys his clothes... unless I can manage to convince Mr. Crawfish to let me pick stuff out./

/give us... oh... about twenty minutes, and we're going to the mall.../

/twenty minutes? And what will you be doing for twenty minutes?/ The humor came through his mental tone.

/what will I be doing? ANYTHING that Nagi WANTS me to do.../

/hmmm... well, right now he doesn't have a clue, but you already knew that. Just be careful, he wasn't treated well in the past./

/No one is treated well in their past... it's just how you learn to deal with it that makes you a better person./ Nanjiro quiped back as he started to massage Nagi's straining erection. "I don't want to push you too fast..."

"Push me?" The teen squirmed under him, head falling back. "oooh..."

Nibbling at the telekinetic's ear, the shinigami popped the first button on Nagi's pants. "i don't want to make you do anything that you don't want to do..."

insert SEX here

Nagi pulled back enough to be able to stare deeply into Nanjiro's eyes. "thank you." He whispered.

Nanjiro playfully kissed the tip of Nagi's nose. "you're going to hate me now..."

The brunette's head cocked to one side, a look of confusion crossing his face. "why?"

"I told Schuldig that the three of us were going to go shopping... now."

"Shopping?!"

"That's right chibi, so make yourselves decent..." The redhead sauntered through the living room, smirk firmly in place.

Tucking himself back into his pants, the shinigami laughed, "decent is a variable term..."

Nagi was bright red, frantically trying to straighten his clothing. Schu grinned again and headed for his room. "I'm going to change... I'll be out shortly."

Reaching into Nagi's lap, Nanjiro nonchalantly zipped up the teen's pants.

---

Standing in the garden, the scientist looked up into the clear sky and watched as several fluffy white clouds drifted across the azure expanse. Near him he could hear his partner cursing as another spell failed to do what was expected of it. Draco grabbed the rock he was trying to levitate and threw it against the garden's far wall. Thoroughly frustrated, his fingers dug into the platinum blond hair as he took several deep breaths.

"Calm down Draco... you knew that working without a wand would be difficult." He commented after settling down on a soft patch of grass.

"It's so frustrating. I learned my first levitation charm when I was seven... now I can't even lift a damn pebble!"

"Come here... you need to settle down." Opening his arms, Watari beckoned the reaper towards him.

With a sigh, Draco slid over. He sighed heavily. "I feel like a squib."

Pulling the teen closer, the older blonde rested his head on one of those slender shoulders, "You'll get it... I know you will."

"But how long is it going to take?"

"Does it matter?" Watari kissed the side of Draco's neck.

"I'm tired of feeling like a burden..."

"The day you become a burden to me, I promise to let you know..."

The Reaper didn't reply. He did however pick up another rock. Taking a deep breath to settle and focus, he concentrated on 'lifting'. It wasn't until an hour later and several replacement rocks, that one small pebble shakily rose a few inches off the ground, hovered and then fell. Draco felt mentally exhausted. He had the beginnings of a monster headache, but he'd done it. Pathetically, but he'd done it. In the distance he could hear someone clapping at him.

Draco twisted, looking for whoever was watching.

There was a teen with white spiky hair, still clapping, and walking towards them...

"Who are you?"

"Byakko... you must be... Dray-chan?" Arriving, the stranger sat down and a long black and white tail wrapped around him... happily wagging every now and then.

"Draco."

"So formal little Dray-chan..." The white haired teen sniffed as the tail twitched playfully.

Silver eyes rolled. "It's a silly name."

The long tail uncurled and tapped the reaper on the back of the head, "It's an endearment... besides, I'm older than you."

"It's still silly."

"Dray-chan..."

Draco scowled. He was tired and with the headache he was getting rather cranky. His stomach was reminding him that it was empty too.

Laughing, Byakko jumped to his feet, "I have to get going... Kuro-chan should be waiting for me on the other side of the fence..."

The Reaper watched the tiger bounce away. Pest.

---

Walking through the mall, Nanjiro suddenly dragged Nagi into a store that catered more to the gothic crowd. Schu had wandered off by himself a couple stores ago. Nagi stared at the strange clothing. "What's this stuff?"

"Just some things that I thought would look good on you..."

The brunette looked very skeptically at a tight leather corset. "You've got to be kidding me..."

"Make a deal with you," Nanjiro winked at the teen.

"Oh?" Midnight eyes stared as one of the hardcore goths walked by, multiple piercings flashing.

"Both of us pick something out for each other, and we have to wear it out of the store... only rule is that the crotchless and assless pants are off-limits..."

"Totally off limits!"

"That is the only rule... " Heading off into the clothes, the shinigami gave a dangerous wink back at the young telekinetic.

Nagi shivered. He was in so much trouble... he knew. He wandered off in another direction. What to pick out for Nanjiro? A young woman, at least he thought it was female, came over to ask if he needed any help. "Um... my friend and I have a little bet. I have to pick something for him to wear out... I have no idea what to have him try on though."

"Uhm," a long elaborately painted nail tapped a small lip piercing as the person thought for a moment, "What kind of look would you want to go with for him, and who is he?"

Nagi nodded toward the blue head that was visible at another rack. "Him... and I have no idea."

Smirking evilly, the salesperson nodded, "Looks like he is hiding a very fine body under those baggy clothes..."

"Oh yes..." The teen smiled slightly, remembering what he'd seen of that body.

The girl dragged Nagi towards a section closer to the back, and started looking through what looked like leather harnesses, "Question is, do you want to wear what he might chose for you?"

The very idea of it made the teen nervous. "I... I don't know."

A collar was handed over to the teen along with what might have been an intricate leather harness that had at least four metal rings on it.

Nagi turned it around a few times. "I couldn't even tell you how to get it on."

Two of the rings were singled out, "These go around his nipples, and this one goes on his back." She pointed out a smaller ring.

"Oh." Nagi knew he was blushing... and it wasn't even supposed to be for him!

"If you want to go more extreme, there is one with five rings..."

"Five? But..."

The second harness with five rings is picked up, along with a couple of boxes and a set of long black pants, that the girl insisted that even though they looked like leather, in actuality was more formfitting than true leather.

"So I should just take these over to him?"

"Looks like he's ready for you..." The girl smiled cheerfully.

"Thank you." He bowed politely and headed for the dressing rooms. A dark bundle of clothes was held up for Nagi to see when he reached his blue haired boyfriend. "What's that?"

"Corset, pants, collar and boots..." Nanjiro said happily before taking a look at what the brunette had brought him, and promptly blushing brightly.

Nagi set his armful on one of the convenient benches. He picked up the pants. "These are way too small."

"Trust me, they aren't... just try them on," the shinigami laughed while guiding the telekinetic into the dressing room.

"Okay." Nagi went into the small area and pulled the curtain. He took off his jeans and opened up the lacings on the leather pants. "Nanjiro... these are never going to go over my boxers..."

"Who said anything about wearing boxers under those?"

The brunette spluttered. "Not wear them?!"

"Don't wear the outfit then... I'm kind of looking forward to NOT wearing this interesting choice you have for me."

Nagi paused. "Um... don't be mad... the salesgirl picked it out."

"That's what I figured..."

Nagi suddenly felt very uncertain and nervous, standing there in his underwear. "i'm sorry..."

Chuckling, the shinigami picked up what 'Nagi' had chosen for him and entered the dressing room next to his boyfriend, "I'm kind of surprised that she didn't hand over a leash as well..."

The brunette made a sound that was suspiciously like a squeak. "A LEASH?!"

"Oh, wait... it's in here too..."

Nagi shook his head, sitting on the bench in the changing room. "I'm sorry. I won't wear this and you won't wear that. I didn't know she was picking that."

"Hey, leashes are no big deal..."

"You're not a pet."

"That's good to know."

Blushing, Nagi took off his boxers and struggled into the pants. Nanjiro had been right, they did stretch to fit him... sort of. They were tight though... REALLY tight. "Are the pants supposed to be this... snug?"

"The snugger, the better..."

The brunette laced them up, adjusting himself. If he got 'interested' at all it would be... really obvious. He pulled off his shirt and picked up the corset. This didn't seem... quite as bad. It took a while, but eventually both teens were out of the dressing rooms... and Nanjiro was tightening the lacings on Nagi's corset. "Nan... I can't breath right."

Smirking, he turned them both towards a mirror, "That means the corset is on correctly."

Nagi couldn't help but ogle Nanjiro in the outfit. He was like... sex on legs. No... shouldn't think about that, it would show.

Nanjiro looked down at himself, "I guess I should thank the sales girl... she made it physically impossible for me to get up," he commented with a scowl.

"I don't understand." The brunette looked over the outfit again. He couldn't really see anything holding Nan down.

He put his hands on his hips, "It's a chastity device... "

"A what?... oooooooh." Nagi tried not to smile.

"Really useful since I have one ring around my..." Smiling broadly, the shinigami ground himself, or rather the constricting and torturous plastic casing, against the brunette. Midnight eyes widened almost comically. The girl behind the counter was laughing quietly. The brunette glanced at her and then down, blushing. He seemed lost as to what to do or say. Moving the blushing teen, Nanjiro herded him towards the counter.

"I take it you're wearing those out?" The girl was grinning.

The shinigami pressed up behind Nagi, pinning him against the counter, "I believe we will..."

"Hmmm... I guess you are braver than I was figuring." She tilted her head. "You look good, both of you."

"Just a lot more stubborn..."

"That works too. Have fun."

It was once they were out of the store and moving that Nanjiro started to realize just how evil the sales girl was. Several times, he had to ask the teen to hold up a moment... so he could catch his breath. He already felt hot, and that damn toy that had been included kept rubbing against his prostrate.

Nagi was only too happy to stop as well. He was having trouble getting used to breathing in the corset. When Schuldich met up with them he was smirking. "Was your shopping successful?"

The shinigami made a not so polite comment about evilly helpful sales people.

"I think we should probably head back home... You two are getting a lot of attention and I'd rather not have to kill anyone."

The thought of sitting down, in a car, which would hit pot holes and speed bumps did not really appeal to the blue haired teen... but even standing was starting to make him flush. "Nagi is the one getting all the attention," Nanjiro winked.

/and he's about to keel over from it... i'm sure the car is not exactly where you want to be but once we get home you two can play to your hearts content. I'm taking Farf out to an art opening tonight./

"Nagi... let's go back, and you can find out what the other two rings do..." he whispered into the teen's ear.

The brunette was quite eager to get out of the public's sight. Schu was mentally laughing all the way out into the parking garage. He was carrying the bags from the first couple stores they had gone to, where more... normal... clothes had been selected for Nagi.

Outside it was the pale hair that had caught the shinigami's attention. There were very few people that he knew of in Japan that had hair like that, and Draco it was not. He'd seen the reaper's memory of what had happened... he'd seen the cruelty in the eyes of the teen's father when he'd killed the boy. Watari might be nice enough to give warnings in his area... but for the love of Enma, he wasn't Watari... and the bastard was in Tokyo. Breaking into a run, Nanjiro ignored the plug that was now moving insanely inside of him, the bastard was dangerous in all the wrong ways... and he was going after the SOB.

Nanjiro had closed about half the distance between them when Lucius turned and just smiled at him. It was with the smile that he felt his mind seized and a wave of nausea washed over him. Knees buckling under him, the teen glared up at the blonde wizard through vivid blue bangs, "bastard..." he growled in English through gritted teeth, "get the fuck out of Japan..."

"Nanjiro?!" The two Schwarz members appeared, flanking him. Schuldich's gun was already out. It was obvious from looking at Nagi's eyes that he had already raised a considerable amount of power.

Almost magically, the blonde man disappeared from sight with a short laugh.

"bastard..."

"nanjiro?" Nagi was kneeling next to him, looking concerned. The color seeped back into his eyes as he released his control on his gift. "Are you okay?"

Shaking his head, the shinigami whimpered, "no..." Now that the threat was gone, he could afford to look weak... and his body had no qualms about embarrassing him in public as it emptied the contents of his stomach. Heaving and coughing, the blue haired teen didn't even notice the tears running down his cheeks.

Cool hands rested on his shoulders, supporting him. Anyone walking by didn't even notice them, courtesy of a certain telepath.

"i'm sorry..." the teen whispered as the other two guided him...

"its okay... we're heading for the car..."

Lying down in the car, Nanjiro curled up and tried not to whimper...

The ride seemed to take forever but eventually the car stopped. There was a moment of silence, no doubt a mental conversation between the other two people in the car. /do you need assistance to the elevator? I can carry you if you think it's necessary./

Normally his pride would have told him to turn down the offer... he couldn't even really remember the last time that he was carried, and wrapping his legs around an ex-boyfriend as they fucked him against the wall didn't count. Realistically, he knew that there was no way his legs were going to work well enough to get him from the car to the elevator... /please.../

/alright. nagi get the bags, doors and buttons./ The car doors opened and Nanjiro was carefully picked up, care taken concerning the sex toy still in him. It wasn't long before they were in the elevator and approaching Schwarz's current abode.

In Schuldig's arms, Nanjiro suddenly felt very small... but safe.


	3. Happy Father's Day!

Author's notes:

For all intents and purposes, god's of death from Britain are technically called 'Reapers' instead of 'Shinigami' (makes sense, different culture... different language, hence different name). This fic is a continuation of 'Enter the Reaper' and 'The Reaper's Journey'.

Disclaimer: Yanagi-sen and I are only borrowing the characters from Yami no Matsuei and Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter books to torment for a while... Don't look for Harry to be appearing at any time in this fanfiction. Weiss Kreuz also seems to be making an appearance. Look for Schwarz, and don't expect the flower shop boys to be making any lengthy appearances... hmmm, is it obvious that the authors like the 'bad guys'? We claim no ownership over any character that does not belong to us... Itami Korin and Ishida Nanjiro are mine... those I claim and abuse at will.

The Reaper's Ascent.

Chapter three.

The sun had just set when Puss sauntered over to where Draco and Watari were... and promptly curled up in his reaper's lap. Leaning over, Watari watched the small shiki's tail as it twitched back and forth. "maybe we should go back inside... it's getting a little late."

"okay." Draco was feeling a little happier about himself. He'd managed a couple other elementary level charms, but it was exhausting work.

Rolling over, the shinigami went up on all fours, and lazily crawled over to the teen where he kissed him on the tip of his nose. "better?"

"Hmmm... I guess." He wrinkled his nose a bit, not realizing it made him look like a rabbit.

Watari chuckled, and shook his head, "cute..."

"What is?"

"You."

Silver eyes rolled. "I'm not cute..."

"I dare to differ... you are very cute."

"If you say so... are we going in?" His stomach growled.

Climbing to his feet, the older blond offered a hand to the teen, "hei hei..."

"Puss... you have to move!" Reluctantly, the feline relinquished his spot on Draco's lap. "Sorry... but it's hard to walk when you're sitting on me." Puss just flicked his tail at the blond in annoyance. "Come on... we'll get dinner."

---

Soaking in the tub, Nanjiro leaned over the edge. There was something about the feeling he got when that bastard grabbed his mind. Wizards weren't supposed to be telepaths damnit. He knew the feeling the man had sent him... he knew it. Sitting up straight, he slammed his fists into the water. "WIZARDS AREN'T TELEPATHS!!!"

There was a quiet knock at the door. "Nanjiro?"

Sighing, Nanjiro got up and grabbed the oversized towel that Nagi had handed over when he had climbed (or rather, slithered) into the tub sick to his stomach. "Love, you got a good look at that guy today, right?" he asked through the door as he quickly toweled himself off and then wrapped the soft material around his slender frame. Damn, oh how he wished that shinigami could gain weight...

"Yes." The door cracked open and a hand appeared, holding a warm robe.

"Ever see him again, run as far away from him as possible." Taking the robe, the shinigami pulled it around himself and finished opening the door so that he could better see Nagi.

The brunette was dressed in a loose pair of pants and a tee shirt. "Run away?"

Nanjiro nodded gravely, "Hai. Get out of his sight as fast as you can... get away from him... the man is dangerous, I already know of at least two people that he murdered."

"And you ran after him?!"

About to answer, the blue haired teen's attention was caught by something that was said on the tv in the other room. "What the hell?" Carefully moving past the telekinetic, he went closer so he could see the news report... "Watari Kiyoshi died?"

Nagi followed him into the room. "Yes, it's all over all the networks. Him and his two sons, it's a mess."

Pulling the robe around him even tighter, the shinigami felt very cold. "What killed them?"

Nagi froze for a moment, emotions and thoughts locking down. "you know what I am... do you know what I do?"

Patting the teen lightheartedly on the head, Nanjiro gave a bright smile, "There are reasons I don't ask you about your job."

He nodded toward the tv, still very serious. "Do you want to know what they are saying... or what I think?"

"If they say that any of the deaths were natural... then they are idiots." He was nosy, and always found it good to know when someone was supposed to die... like he knew his dad was supposed to die next Thursday at 4:53pm, the shinigami kind of hoped the jerk would be someplace public when he keeled over. Kiyoshi had at least another decade, and the kids... okay, the middle child was going to die before his dad, but still... they were all murdered.

The brunette sighed. "Reportedly... Kiyoshi passed away from 'natural causes'. Yasuo is the victim of an 'elevator malfunction' and Kenji suffered from a 'stroke'. I think it's too much of a coincidence and likely they were all 'helped'."

"I need to use your computer..."

"Okay, it's on the coffee table there... I was checking email while you were in the bath."

Making his way towards the laptop, Nanjiro mumbled something about it being a shame that a woman named Kyoko didn't get herself killed as well.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?" Nagi decided not to comment on things he didn't know about.

"Uhm, something with a lot of sugar in it, please..." Settled at the computer, Nanjiro started to type away... obviously hacking into a large company's network.

"Sugar... sugar... hot cocoa or soda?"

"Soda, I need to be alert for a while..."

"Okay." Nagi disappeared into the kitchen. He reemerged several minutes later with a tray carrying a couple drinks and a plate piled with sandwiches.

On the monitor, several charts and diagrams were visible... along with some reports that the blue haired teen scrolled through before clicking shut and looking through another set. "The elevator cables were snapped... and the other two were curses... "

The brunette sat taking one of the drinks. "Cables... those are easy to rig. I can think of at least a dozen ways to manage that. Curses? That's out of my realm."

Nanjiro sighed and pulled out his cell phone. "Fucker missed one..."

"Huh?"

"Watari Yutaka... Kiyoshi's youngest son, is in a boarding school out of country." Dialing what looked to be an insanely long number, the blue haired teen pulled Nagi into his lap.

The brunette stiffened slightly. "If this call is private I can go in the other room."

Wrapping an arm firmly around the telekinetic's waist, the blue haired teen leaned against him and sighed comfortably, "Moshi moshi... Korin? ... ... does it sound like I care? No, I don't... ... Don't take that tone with me... ... Fine... are you still in England? ... Great, can you get me that teacher that Watari trusts so much? ... ... Teacher, Professor, they both teach."

Nagi stayed very quiet, melting against the other teen. He didn't pretend to understand what was really happening or what Nanjiro might be mixed up in. At least he didn't have to hide who and what he was anymore.

"Right, Korin, I really don't care that it's the middle of the night over there... "

What could be Nanjiro's connection to the Watari family? He didn't seem old enough to have been friends with the deceased. Maybe the youngest one that he was concerned about now.

---

In England, Korin hung up the phone. Pulling on his black turtleneck, the pyro glared at the small mechanical device and growled. Looks like he gets to kidnap a Hogwarts professor...

---

Watari looked around, and tried to figure out how this had happened... somehow, after dinner, and between them getting back to their room... they now seemed to be in a dense jungle. At the scientist's feet, lay Draco, unmoving. Puss was crouching nearby, tail swishing with agitation. Kneeling, he patted the teen's cheek in concern, "Draco?"

The Reaper was very pale and his skin felt chilled. He didn't respond.

Picking up the unresponsive teen, the older blond looked around to see if there might be someplace more comfortable to set him down. The jungle was dense, and dark. There were things moving in that darkness, but no evidence of anything resembling civilization. Moving through dense brush while it was dark would be an insanely stupid thing to do. Sighing, Watari found a spot that looked good and lowered the teen against the tree. Taking off one of the robes that he had been wearing, he used that to wrap around the both of them...

Puss settled down not far away, his whole attitude watchful and defensive. Draco was shivering slightly but seemed to be warming next to the other blond's body.

---

Dropping into the room, Korin glanced around slightly before focusing on the figure asleep on the bed.

The man rolled over, dark hair spilling across the pillow. His face was relaxed in sleep, but still lines creased his skin.

All one needs is a simple touch... Reaching out, the pyrokinetic grabbed the wizard's hand and teleported them into his apartment in the land of the dead. Aiming so that Snape would land on the futon, Korin didn't react when the sleeping man's body dropped at least a foot from the original height at which he had been sleeping.

The man was remarkably quick acting, rolling away from the shinigami and coming awake in an instant. "Who are you?!"

"Itami Korin... we met in Hong Kong."

"Oh yes..." He looked around. "Where are we? And why have you brought me here?"

"My apartment, I'll take you back once this is over." A small silver phone is pulled out and the amber eyed teen scrolls down to his last incoming call. "Ishida-san wanted a word with you."

"Who?"

"The shinigami who works in the seventh block..."

"Why does he wish to speak with me?"

Korin shrugged, "Moshi moshi, Nanjiro... yes, I have him, and please remember that he only speaks English." Handing the phone over, the blond indicated that Snape should speak into the bottom and listen to the top.

"Yes?"

"Professor Snape?" inquired a curious voice from the mechanical object.

"Yes."

"Uhm, there seems to be a slight crisis over here in Japan involving Taka's family..."

"I see. Do you wish him to come home?"

"Just the opposite... and he's going to want to come home... his family is dead."

"Dead?!" There was a moment where Snape couldn't think of anything to say.

"Dead as in the kind where it wasn't accidental or natural."

"Murdered?"

"Unless they decided to avada kedavra themselves... I'd say it was."

"Any idea who the murderer is?"

"Draco's father."

The potion's master swore. "Was Draco involved at all?"

"Nope, they are still on vacation... but right now I'm looking at a different problem... Taka is a minor, and being the only remaining son of Watari Kiyoshi, he is inheriting not just his father's money and business... but the estates of his two older brothers as well... and legal guardianship goes to his stepmother... Watari Kyoko."

"And this is a serious problem?"

"She will drag him out of Hogwarts, drop him into a public school where he will be discriminated against because of his appearance by both students and teachers. Given any excuse, she will have him institutionalized and declared incompetent... so that she will be able to control his money."

Snape scowled. "Is there any way we can block this from happening?"

"Yes... there is."

"Then I suggest whatever it is that we do this quickly. It may take several days for her to figure out how to contact Mr. Watari, but then we will have to have some plan in place."

"I was hoping that you would say something like that... "

"Why?"

"I want to make YOU Taka's legal guardian."

"ME?!"

"Yes, you... I don't have many options here."

"But... I'm not a good choice... Isn't there anyone else?"

"You're a perfect choice... any of Kiyoshi's colleagues will drag Taka back to Japan for the funerals thinking that it would be safe for him when there is a flappy-caped murdering wizard still wandering around here..."

Snape sighed. This was his penance he was sure... all those years of tormenting Gryffindors... and this was his punishment. "This isn't a... permanent thing, is it?"

There was a short silence as the shinigami thought for a moment. "If I didn't think you were a good choice, then I wouldn't have had Korin get you. Taka's a good kid, but his returning to Japan isn't the best... now, or in the long run."

"With Malfoy on the loose, I think we are in agreement. I will do this. Should I inform Mr. Watari about this in the morning?"

"Please..."

"Very well. Please keep me informed of any developments."

"Hai, and Snape-sensei?"

"Yes?"

"Welcome to being a father."


	4. Musical partners! Oh my!

Author's notes:

For all intents and purposes, god's of death from Britain are technically called 'Reapers' instead of 'Shinigami' (makes sense, different culture... different language, hence different name). This fic is a continuation of 'Enter the Reaper' and 'The Reaper's Journey'.

Disclaimer: Yanagi-sen and I are only borrowing the characters from Yami no Matsuei and Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter books to torment for a while... Don't look for Harry to be appearing at any time in this fanfiction. Weiss Kreuz also seems to be making an appearance. Look for Schwarz, and don't expect the flower shop boys to be making any lengthy appearances... hmmm, is it obvious that the authors like the 'bad guys'? We claim no ownership over any character that does not belong to us... Itami Korin and Ishida Nanjiro are mine... those I claim and abuse at will.

The Reaper's Ascent.

Chapter four.

Clicking the phone shut, Nanjiro sighed into Nagi's back. So far, so good... at least that was what the man said as he fell past each window of Tokyo Tower...

"All set?"

"Now to transfer legal guardianship..." The shinigami whimpered as he repeatedly 'hit' his head against the telekinetic.

"That's not hard..."

Brightening, the blue haired teen dropped the phone on the table and hugged Nagi. "Hmmm... what do you say we be evil and write Kyoko out of the will?"

"Oh that sounds like fun. Is this Kyoko a problem?"

"The woman is evil... she married Watari Kiyoshi just for his money after having plastic surgery to make herself look more like his deceased wife."

"That's... that's just sick."

"And think of how happy she will be over the fact that only one thing is standing in her way to a very large fortune?"

"That boy you just called about?"

"Yup. Taka."

"Do you think... do you think she had anything to do with this?"

Nanjiro sighed heavily, "she's mean, manipulative... but she didn't kill them."

"Ah." He leaned forward grabbing one of the sandwiches. "Here, eat something, I'll get to work on this." Nibbling on one of the sandwiches, the telepath murmured thanks to the young brunette. Nagi's fingers started to fly over the keyboard. "I did this for myself a few years ago. It might take most of the night to make it stick and cover my tracks, but it's doable."

"Have I told you how much I love you?"

"I think so..." Nagi's attention was a bit distracted. "There's more sandwiches."

By the time Schuldig and Farf came home, Nanjiro was curled up napping on the sofa as the telekinetic continued working at the computer. Farf looked at him curiously but went on into his room. Schu sat in one of the other chairs. Nagi kept typing.

Yawning, the blue haired teen snuggled closer to the pillow he was hugging and the loose robe slid off of the nicely tanned shoulder.

One red eyebrow lifted. /Nice... how long are you going to be chibi?/

Nagi sighed. "I'm almost done, the rest the computer will have to do overnight." On the sofa the teen murmured something incoherent about a large chicken using the Dewey decimal system. The brunette set the laptop on the coffee table and pushed it away. "Okay... that's it." He stretched. "I guess its bedtime..."

Slowly mismatched green eyes opened, and Nanjiro tightened his grip on the pillow. "hmmm... "

"Good morning..." Nagi yawned... "or good night... take your pick."

"mmm... either one is good... did it work?"

"It's working... but my part is done for a few hours."

Rolling over onto his back, the robe slid up Nanjiro's leg revealing the flawless skin. "And tomorrow we work on that will, right?"

"Yeah." Nagi stood and stretched again, arms going over his head. His small tee shirt rode up, exposing an expanse of smooth skin. Schu's eyes slid up and down that slender body appreciatively.

The blue haired teen whistled.

The brunette dropped his arms. "What?"

Smiling, Nanjiro sent him the image that he had been enjoying.

"oh..." Nagi colored slightly.

/He's fun to tease,/ Nanjiro 'commented' to the red head seated near him.

/of course he is... i guess i didn't notice how much he'd grown up in the years i've been teasing him./

/It's scary how fast a person will grow up on you.../ the teen said wistfully as he sat up, almost giving an accidental peek before the material was tugged back into place.

/true... are you going to drag him into his bedroom and have your wicked way with him?/

"Hey Nagi, should I drag you into the bedroom to have my wicked way with you?"

"What?!" The brunette looked shocked.

"Yeah, I mean... you didn't get to play with the stuff you bought today yet..."

Nanjiro perked up and sat kneeling on the sofa looking at Nagi, giving Schuldig an almost completely unobstructed view of his behind. "It'll be fun!"

/tease... do you WANT me to jump your ass?/

Blushing, the shinigami sat down and coughed.

"Are you okay?" Nagi looked concerned and suspicious at the same time, shooting a glance at the redhead.

"If we don't go to the room, I'll just be forced to do naughty things to you right here..."

"Let's go into my room!" Nagi reached out to grab Nanjiro's hand. Schu just laughed.

Letting himself be pulled from the sofa, Nanjiro chuckled and then pulled the brunette into a deep and probing kiss. Schuldich wolf-whistled and then grunted as his chair was promptly overturned. Nagi didn't look back as he tugged the blue-haired teen in the general direction of the bedrooms.

/Sorry... I don't think that he liked that.../

/i'll live... he's done it before. if he really didn't like me he could have tossed me out the window. just try to keep the noise down... or i might not be able to restrain myself./

Glancing back at the red head, Nanjiro gave an evil smirk... and tied the German's perceptions and feelings to his own.

Nagi closed the door firmly, even turning the lock. "I'm sorry about him..."

"It's okay... besides, it might have been interesting as well," the shinigami chuckled as he started nipping at the teen's neck.

Nagi titled his head away, giving more access to the slender neck. "mmm... interesting?"

"He's hot in that 'he'll make me scream in pleasure and faint in the process' way... while you are sexy in the 'I want to make YOU pant, scream, beg and finally pass out from pleasure'..." Hands slipped up under that small shirt and started to play with the brunette's nipples as his mouth sucked on the teen's lower lip.

_-censored, foreplay between Nanjiro and Nagi goes here-_

Dragging the red head further into his mind and making the link stronger so that Schuldig would feel as though here were in the room, rather than a passive participant, Nanjiro smirked, "Nagi, love, I think that you are wearing too many clothes..." /and there's a small remote in one of the boxes that came home... could you find that?/

Nagi looked down. His shirt had already been removed, he only had the loose pants now. "Oh?"

"hai... very much over dressed..."

"I see... what are you going to do about it?"

Sitting up, the shinigami laughed, "Let's see how desperate you can get?" Moving towards Nagi, a pink tongue lapped at one sensitive nipple.

"mmmm..." The boy braced his arms behind him, leaving no obstruction for the other teen.

Carefully nibbling, Nanjiro released the small nub of flesh and blew softly across it before moving to the next... Nagi made a pleased whimpering sound. Next he moved to a sensitive spot on the teen's collar, never once making a move to even touch the telekinetic's clothes.

"Oh..." The brunette's head fell back.

The talented mouth quickly found its way to his neck, and then took a small nip at his right ear.

_-censored, sex between Nanjiro and Nagi goes here.-_

It was times like this that the shinigami hated the fact that he had such stamina, not that it was his fault... it kind of came naturally after having so many lovers that adored to torment him and draw out his climax for as long as possible, or beat him to a bloody pulp if he came too soon. He had a couple options open to him. Nagi looked exhausted, but Nanjiro knew that a teen's body was generally quick to recover if given sufficient reason to do so. Nagi might not be ready to top him... but he probably would be amendable to being topped.

Unfortunately, he WANTED to be topped...

There was another man in the apartment who might be agreeable... and who happened to be 'listening in.'

Quivering, he sat up and bit back a moan as the toy rubbed against his prostrate. /schu?/

/yes? that was so hot by the way.../

/i'm still hard.../

/i can tell.../

Mismatched green eyes checked the teen over, and were satisfied with seeing that he was thoroughly asleep. Slipping off the bed, he quietly padded over to the door wincing as each step caused the little toy to shift positions inside him. The door was carefully pushed open and the shinigami stepped out of the bedroom and headed for the living room where the older telepath had been previously. /so are you.../

/am i what?/ The redhead was lounging in his chair, the lights out, looking a bit rumpled.

/you are still hard too.../

/hell yes... you two are enough to turn anyone on./

Nanjiro licked his lips as he took in the view before making his way over to Schuldig. Straddling the larger man's lap, he cupped the trapped erection, "I need to be fucked..."

"That's blunt. How will you explain this to Nagi? Or is this to be a secret?"

"I'd rather not tell him... secret or not, I need to be topped, and I think that he might faint at the notion."

"Very true... you do realize that if you hurt him in any way that Brad, Farf, and I will rip you a new one."

"And usually it's my friends giving out the threats..." Nan remarked cocking his head to the side.

"hmm... well given all that..." He leaned forward to whisper in the teen's ear. "do you still want to be fucked?"

"Yes..."

_-censored, sex between Schuldig and Nanjiro goes here-_

Petting the soft blue hair, the man held the teen close. "You okay?"

Slowly the teen nodded his head and let it rest again against the red head's shoulder.

The shadows shifted and there was a sudden crash as the small hall table was knocked over. Nagi stood there, staring at them, looking hurt and betrayed.

Mismatched green eyes blinked in confusion. "Nagi?!"

The teen backed away, shaking his head before turning and fleeing for his room.

Nearly falling out of the red head's lap as he scrambled after the teen, Nanjiro collapsed on the floor as his legs gave out from beneath him.

Schu tried to catch him, calling to the retreating boy at the same time. "Nagi! It's not what you think!" They heard a door slam.

"Nagi?" Grabbing onto the German, the teen let himself be helped up. "Please at least listen to us..."

"He's in his room... I think he's got the door sealed." Schuldich helped Nanjiro back down the hallway. They could see Farf standing in the door way of his room, looking at them with disgust.

"MOU! Nagi, at least listen to an explanation..."

Farfarello snorted and turned to go back into his room. "next time, keep it in your pants, Schuldich." The door closed.

"Farf..." The redhead sighed. "I'm sorry... I should have kept track of Nagi."

Nanjiro let himself slide out of Schuldig's arms and collapsed on the floor. "It's my fault... I deserve this... they were all right, I was getting exactly what I deserved."

"NO! You STOP that right now! This was an accident, a case of some poor judgment. Nagi is a rational being... if you can talk to him, he'll understand!"

"He'll understand what? That I've always been the fuckee rather than the fucker? That I can't keep a decent relationship going because my friends all decide to jump in and scare him away with very fucking effective death threats?"

"Look... I don't claim to know what's happened in your past. But from the hints you've dropped it hasn't been all that great. You're a good person and you deserve an equally good person, who happens to be on the other side of that door. If you decide to walk away, fine... that's your choice. But if you do, don't come back." The redhead leaned over, giving him a quick hug. He then disappeared into his bedroom.

"Nagi?" Nanjiro tapped on the door, "open up... please?"

There was a long minute where there was no sound... then with a click the door unlatched.

Gingerly, he got to his feet and used the wall to help him into the room. It took a little bit for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. "Nagi... I'm sorry..."

A sniffle came from the floor beside the bed. "no... i'm sorry..."

The robe was located and slipped on, seriously talking to someone is always a lot easier when you don't feel as exposed. "You don't need to apologize... I'm the one that acted like an ass."

Nagi didn't respond, he was curled up beside the bed, his face hidden in his arms on his knees. His shoulders were shaking.

Kneeling in front of the smaller teen, the shinigami put his hands on those trembling shoulders. "Every time that I look at you, I get scared that somehow I'm going to ruin your life... I guess that I just did. If you want me to leave, just tell me so, and you'll never have to see or hear about me again..."

Nagi shook his head, but didn't come up out of the sanctuary of his arms.

Wrapping his arms around the slender teen, the shinigami pulled him closer, "I'm so sorry... please forgive me?"

The brunette finally turned to clutch the soft robe. His breath hitched, betraying the tears streaming down his pale face.

He hugged the teen even tighter, "i'm sorry..." he murmured.


	5. He challenged a what?

Author's notes:

For all intents and purposes, god's of death from Britain are technically called 'Reapers' instead of 'Shinigami' (makes sense, different culture... different language, hence different name). This fic is a continuation of 'Enter the Reaper' and 'The Reaper's Journey'.

Disclaimer: Yanagi-sen and I are only borrowing the characters from Yami no Matsuei and Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter books to torment for a while... Don't look for Harry to be appearing at any time in this fanfiction. Weiss Kreuz also seems to be making an appearance. Look for Schwarz, and don't expect the flower shop boys to be making any lengthy appearances... hmmm, is it obvious that the authors like the 'bad guys'? We claim no ownership over any character that does not belong to us... Itami Korin and Ishida Nanjiro are mine... those I claim and abuse at will.

The Reaper's Ascent.

Chapter five.

His back hurt almost as much as if a large truck had decided to run him over, and then backed over him a few times to add insult to misery. Groaning painfully, Watari sat up and looked around sleepily. There was a warm bundle of fabric and shinigami next to him. Not far away Puss was still on guard duty. Looking back, the shinigami saw the culprit for his morning aches and pains... an inconvenient rock was sitting where he had been lying down. Draco was apparently not laying on a rock as he wasn't even moving yet. He looked better, less pale and sickly. The sound of running water drew Watari's attention. "Puss, I'll be right back..."

The shiki mewled and wandered back over to nuzzle at his master.

Stepping through some of the trees, the blonde saw a stream just up ahead. Happily, he went towards it... streams usually meant fish, and fish meant food... and that meant, Breakfast!

The water babbled over some rocks before spilling into a deeper pool. Trees hung over the water and darker shapes moved in the shadows. Watching the darker shapes swimming in the water just made the scientist's stomach rumble, complaining about the lack of sustenance he was providing for it. Now the question was, what would be the easiest way to catch a fish?

Watari sighed deeply, looks like he was going to have to ask a local shikigami for help, and hope that it didn't decide to kill him for being disrespectful...

There appeared to be a large frog sitting on one of the rocks on the other side of the stream. It was watching him intently.

Bowing deeply in the direction of the amphibian, the shinigami tried to appear as respectful as possible.

"You want something, shinigami?"

Did that sound upset? Was the shiki annoyed at him already? Watari kept his head bowed to the unknown creature, "my partner and I are stranded here..."

Suddenly the frog blurred and in its place was a young man with green hair. "Is your partner as pretty as you are, shinigami?"

Hazel eyes widened and the shinigami looked up, "I beg your pardon?"

"I thought it was a simple question... Is your partner as pretty as you are?" He winked at the shinigami and splashed a webbed foot into the water.

"What do appearances have to do with anything?" Watari inquired, a little confused.

The shikigami shrugged. "I like pretty things. So how did you end up so far from home?"

The blonde swallowed. "I'm not entirely certain how we managed to do that..." he stated, completely avoiding answering the question about Draco's appearance.

"Ah... lost. So what do you need, shinigami?"

"Assistance in acquiring something to eat and directions to Sohryu's palace?" Smiling, he clasped his hands behind his back. Those shouldn't be that much of a bother... at least he hoped.

"Something to eat..." The shikigami looks around. "I take it you want some fish for breakfast?"

"That would be very appreciated..."

Moving so fast it was hard to follow the movement, the shikigami's arm flashes into the water. He flicked a good sized fish at the shinigami's feet. Watari noted that the hand was webbed as well. "There you go..."

Bowing again, he kneeled down and picked up the fish. Preparing this shouldn't be any more difficult than one bought from the store... except that he had no knives, no pan, no stove, and... well, all he had was, a fish. Okay. "Arigatou."

The shikigami shrugged again. He shimmered again and the frog jumped into the stream, paddling across and climbing up on the bank near the blond. Another transformation and the shikigami stood close to the scientist. "My my... you are even prettier up close."

Taking an involuntary step back, Watari blushed,

"So... what are you going to do with that fish... care to share it with a kappa?"

"It would be rude not to share," he took another step to put a more comfortable distance between them. "I was considering cooking it..."

"Ah yes... I suppose raw fish for breakfast wouldn't be too appetizing. Roasted fish sounds good." He sidled up to the shinigami. "Is your partner expecting you soon?" He winked.

Moving away from the kappa and towards a flat outcropping of rocks, Watari carefully set the fish down where it could be retrieved easily, "he still hasn't woken." Looking around, the shinigami starts collecting wood and dry grasses so that he can get a fire started and cook their breakfast.

"Busy night?" The shikigami smirked. Drawing a knife he started to gut the fish.

The blonde shot him a dirty look, but kept any verbal comments to himself.

"I know of some wild onions and other edible plants around here... care for salad with your fish?"

"That's very thoughtful of you to ask, thank you. That would be lovely." A circle of stones is arranged to ensure that the fire won't escape, and a place to start the fire is prepared. Taking off his glasses, Watari gave the shiki a warm smile.

"So... are you going to go GET your partner or are you going to let him get eaten by something?"

The shinigami frowned, he didn't want to move Draco unless necessary... or until the food was ready. If the boy hadn't woken yet, then it meant he still needed more time to recuperate. "He has a guardian with him."

"Oh... really..." He grinned. "Then you're in need of some company yourself?"

"Hmm?" Turning back to the tinder, the glasses were held up and the small beam of refracted light is aimed at the dry grass. He had a sneaking suspicion that he didn't want to see what expression the kappa had on his face...

Chuckling the shikigami moved amidst the plants along the water's edge and under the trees. There was some splashing and then he starts slicing something, stuffing it inside the gutted fish. Wrapping it all in some leaves he stepped over and knelt next to the blond. "Put this in the fire when you get it started. The leaves will protect the fish from scorching."

Thanking the shiki, Watari went back to starting his fire... and after a few false starts, he finally managed to get a small blaze which he carefully fed some more grass and twigs to build it up.

The kappa lounged nearby. "I'm Kano."

"I'm Watari, pleased to meet you Kano," glasses are firmly put back into place and the fish is set in the fire once he is certain that it won't smother the flames.

"So... you ended up a long ways from home, ne?"

"That is what I am guessing, since none of the palaces are visible from here... and there seems to be a decent view."

Kano nodded. "I'd say you're a good week or two from where you're from... if you're walking that is."

Watari sighed wearily. 'One or two weeks?' the scientist thought miserably to himself. The scent of roasting fish was filling the air. The kappa suddenly shifted form again. He hopped over and then INTO Watari's lap. Initially startled, the shinigami stiffened, but quickly calmed down. "Comfortable Kano?"

"Yes... thank you." In less than a minute... Puss came bounding out of the brush. Draco stumbled along behind, looking about half asleep.

"Oy, Draco!" Waving the teen over, Watari did his best not to disturb the shiki in his lap. "You're just in time... breakfast is almost ready."

"Hmmm..." The boy blinks a few times, looking at the frog in confusion. Puss hissed at it.

"He IS pretty... not sure if you're prettier though."

"Kano, this is my partner, Draco" The blonde introduced, completely ignoring the comment on their appearances.

The smaller blond sits next to his partner, blinking repeatedly. He had the extra robe Watari had spread over them wrapped around his form. "who are you talking to?"

Smiling, the shinigami pointed to the frog in his lap.

Draco cocked his head. "oh... another shikigami?"

"Sit down... You still look tired..."

The boy nodded. He sat next to Watari, curling up against him. "where are we? what happened?"

Watari shook his head, "Your guess is as good as mine... last thing that I knew, we were walking through the palace, and next, we are about one to two weeks away from where we were."

"But how did we end up here?"

"Well, it almost seems as though we teleported," the shinigami commented as he carefully took the fish out of the fire, "but that can not be what happened, since we do not teleport in Gensoukai."

"that smells good..."

Opening the leaves, a small piece was pulled off. Gently blowing on the meat to cool it off, the older blonde held it out for the teen to eat.

Draco leaned forward and took the fish. He smiled at the older blond. The frog shifted in Watari's lap. "oh... so you're THOSE kind of partners..."

"Hei, we are THOSE kind of partners..." Another piece was pulled off, and the blonde held it down for Kano to eat.

The frog accepted the piece. "thank you."

Shifting his position a little, Watari moves one of Kano's legs so that his foot isn't resting against such a 'sensitive' spot.

Puss was growling lowly from across the fire. Draco was frowning. "Watari... why is Kano in your lap?"

"Because he jumped there?"

"Oh... does he come in a bigger size?" Draco was waking up, and not happy to have a shiki sitting in his partner's lap.

"Hei, he does... Kano also seems to be quite helpful..."

"I'm sure." Draco said dryly, glaring at the frog. Kano chuckled and hopped out of Watari's lap.

He shimmered and the young man was lounging on the grass again. "So suspicious."

Watari looked from the water shiki to his partner, and then laughed, "Draco... calm down... "

"He was sitting IN your lap!" He glared at the shiki who seemed quite amused by everything.

"Come come... I asked him if you were prettier than him... he wouldn't answer."

"Draco, how long did it take for either of us to make a move on the other... and after having lived together for how long?"

"Still..." He leaned against the blond. Puss walked around to sit on Draco's other side.

Curling an arm around the lithe teen, Watari rested his forehead against the top of the reaper's head, "you are getting jealous over an amphibian sitting in my lap..."

Draco looks at the grinning shikigami. "He doesn't look much like a frog right now..."

"You're cute when you're jealous..."

"Hmmm." The Reaper picked off a piece of fish and offered it to Watari. Easily the scientist accepted it, sucking on the teen's fingers in the process. That seemed to mollify the boy and he smiled at the shinigami.

"As soon as we finish here, we need to get cleaned up and on our way... we have a long walk ahead of us..."

"Long walk? How long?"

"One to two weeks." The shinigami's smile never faltered.

"WHAT?!"

"One to two weeks..."

"You've got to be kidding me?!"

"Nope... wow... two weeks with you two blondies... must be my lucky day."

Watari ran a hand through his hair, "Why do I suddenly envision several problems occurring along our journey?"

"cause you're psychic..." Draco mumbled. Picking some greens, the older blonde silenced his partner with a leafy mouthful.

---

Nanjiro woke and rubbed a spot that itched on the back of his neck. With a yawn, he saw that thankfully he had a sexy brunette cuddled up against him who was still asleep. Somewhere during the course of the night, they had made it back up into the bed... a fact which the shinigami's back was grateful for. Over the past couple of years, he'd come to the conclusion (after being mangled into so many uncomfortable positions by enthusiastic lovers, and then left like that for undetermined periods of time) that beds really were wonderful things to sleep on... sofas, couches and loveseats coming a close second.

Nagi's nose wrinkled and he snuggled in a little closer without waking. He shivered a bit, still naked, the blanket having slid down off his shoulder.

Pulling the blanket back up onto the sleeping teen, the shinigami placed a chaste kiss on his forehead as another twinge went through his neck making him wince slightly.

The brunette shifted again, obviously waking up. He made a slightly discontented sound.

Nanjiro chuckled. Yup chibi... your pillow is moving, sorry.

The boy was actually a bit of a mess. His face was still tear stained and a bit puffy around the eyes and under the sheets and blanket... Nagi was definitely in need of a shower this morning. With a sigh, the shinigami delicately extricated himself from the telekinetic and slid off the bed. On his feet, he wondered what happened to his clothes... he needed to stretch, while he would have happily done so back home, it would look more than a little weird should Nagi wake and find him trying to get the kinks out of his body while only wearing a robe...

Right on cue, midnight eyes flickered. Nagi jumped suddenly and looked around, searching for Nanjiro. Once his eyes found the blue-haired boy, he relaxed, but only partially.

Making sure that the robe was still tied securely in place, he bent over the bed and pulled Nagi in close for a kiss. Okay, so they both needed to brush their teeth... it's still morning, deal with it.

The boy responded stiffly, almost warily. He pulled back sitting up and trying to fingercomb his hair into some semblance of order.

Completely undermining the teen's efforts, Nanjiro mussed up his hair again. "Morning..."

"morning..." Nagi looked down at his hands, twisting in the blankets in his lap.

Ouch, ouch, ouch... back... oh my back... must stretch... Still no clothes, damn. Masking the wince with a wink, the blue haired shinigami smiled at his boyfriend, "You okay?"

Nagi nodded. He lifted the blanket and made a face. "i need a shower."

"I say that we do the environmentally friendly thing and shower together..."

"okay." He pulled the blanket around him as he stood.

"And I make no promises to my good behavior while we are in there... " he grinned.

A number of emotions flickered across Nagi's face, too quick to catch. The brunette headed for the door, easing it open and listening to see if anyone else had already claimed the shower.

Nagi stiffened. "the shower is open..."

He deserved that, the shinigami thought to himself, especially after what he did last night.

The brunette slipped from his arms and led the way to the bathroom. He glanced back, uncertainly. "are you... joining me?"

That question brought a smile to Nanjiro's face. Trotting next to Nagi, he slung and arm around the teen's waist. "I'd follow you through the gates of hell if necessary..."

The uncertainty was still there, but the brunette shut the door behind them and turned on the water. He shyly turned his back and dropped the sheet before ducking around the curtain. Ditching the robe, the blue haired teen soon followed...

---

Standing by the stove, Nanjiro made sure that the breakfast wasn't going to burn. If there was one thing aside from sex that he was good at, it was cooking. He was still getting mostly the silent treatment from Nagi, but he figured that at least the telekinetic hadn't thrown him out on his ass after the stunt from last night... any of his previous boyfriends would have beat him bloody for something like that, and that would have been if they had been in a relatively forgiving mood.

The quiet brunette was setting the table. His face at first glance appeared impassive, but looking closer one could see the faint line between his eyebrows. The boy slipped by the blue-haired teen to retrieve juice from the refrigerator.

What was he supposed to say? Sorry, I fucked your surrogate older brother last night? Wincing, he bit his lip to keep from hissing as a burning pain made its way up from his abdomen. Blinking back a few tears that threatened to escape, he concentrated on the meal and not curling up into a little ball.

After a moment, Nagi appeared next to him with a couple of plates. "Is it nearly ready?"

Taking a deep breath, the shinigami realized that it was getting harder to breathe and that the pain wasn't lessening... in fact, it was getting worse and spreading. Standing there in the kahki pants he had worn the previous day, he wanted to look in the mirror to see what was happening to him... it felt almost as though someone was cutting him open. The plates are taken from the teen with a smile, "Yeah, almost finished... sit down. Let me spoil you."

A trace of a frown crossed Nagi's face. "Are you okay?"

"I might have picked up a bug somewhere... hope that I didn't pass it to you, it's doing some insane things to me..." He winked reassuringly at the brunette as he began serving up the food.

The telekinetic didn't look convinced but he did retreat to the small kitchen table. He poured juice for both of them and waited.

He was about to set the plates down when the two of them heard his cell phone go off. "Ignore it..."

"Are you sure?"

"If they really want to talk to me, then they can leave a voice message." he smirked. "Right now, I have a more important person to take care of."

Nagi glanced down at his plate, obviously a bit embarrassed. "i'm not that special."

"To me you are."

The teen didn't respond, but one could almost see the thoughts running through his head. He picked up his chopsticks and took a bite. "thank you for making breakfast."

In the other room, the phone could be heard ringing again. "Why don't you just get mad and hit me for what I did?" Same ring tone, it was something classical... Wakaba had chosen that one for Terazuma on his phone. Of course the detective had hated it, so he kept it just to bother the shinigami.

Nagi looked confused. "Why would I hit you? You didn't hit me."

"Any of my ex's would have knocked me around a bit for what i did..." the shinigami said, the last couple of words coming out closer to a whisper than anything else.

"that's not right..."

A third time the phone went off and Nanjiro was starting to get tired of the same classical tune. Why did Wakaba like that one anyway? It was kind of dark and depressing. "There are lots of things that aren't right, and we've both seen our fair share, love."

Midnight eyes darted to green at the term of endearment, then back down at his plate. He took a couple more bites. "sounds like someone really wants to get a hold of you..."

Getting up to retrieve the phone that was rapidly turning into a nuisance, he smiled at Nagi. "It's a work colleague that is trying..." Gasping, the teen covered his mouth and with his free hand grasped at the right side of his chest. He took a couple of stumbling steps backwards, eyes wide as he tried not to shudder in pain.

"Nanjiro?" The telekinetic jumped up and grabbed the blue-haired teen's arm. "What's wrong?"

Wide green eyes looked into midnight ones, and Nagi could see the fear and pain in them... as well as the fact that they have changed. The right eye, the one that had always been darker, was now nearly black and the left looked as though it were glowing.

"n...nan?"

Jerking out of Nagi's grip, the blue haired teen stood upright, and reminded the telekinetic momentarily of an animal caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. At least that was before he took off running without an explanation.

"Nanjiro?!" Nagi paused for only a moment before heading after the other boy. He only stopped to jam his feet into his sneakers.

The teen was fast, he had to admit that... but also apparently impatient since he could see that Nanjiro hadn't even bothered to try the elevator and opted for the stairs instead.

With a sigh, Nagi too headed down the stairs. Physical exertion was not one of his strong points, but he wasn't going to let Nanjiro run out who knew where. Somewhere down the stairwell, the telekinetic could hear his lover cry out and then the sound of his body tumbling down the steps. "Nanjiro?!!!" Nagi paused, looking over the rail. He couldn't see far enough. Throwing caution to the wind, he started to run headlong down the steps.

No response came back to him. Reaching where he thought the sound had originally come from, the stairs were clear... though he thought that he could see some blood on one of the steps.

Nagi needed help, and there was no way he was going to walk all the way back up. He sat on the steps, winded. /SCHU!!!!/

/i'm sleeping... don't yell.../

/Nan is gone... he's hurt and he's gone.../

/What?! Shit... I'll be right there.../

/i'm in the stairwell... around... i don't know, the 7th floor.../

It didn't take very long for the German to reach where Nagi was. Long red hair pulled out of his face by the yellow bandana, the telepath nodded to the younger teen. "Come on chibi... we don't want to lose your boyfriend..."

Nagi pushed himself up, having mostly caught his breath by now. "Do you want to see what happened?"

"Sure..."

The telekinetic let the recent events flow to the front of his mind, ending with finding the blood on the step. "I don't understand."

Schuldig picked Nagi up, he could leap from tall buildings in a single bound and not break his legs in the process, he could carry one small teen down the stair well... /wish that I could help you figure that one out too.../

The boy was surprised when he was picked up, and his control slipped a bit. Schu could sense in him the roiling hurt and confusion just below the surface before Nagi got his shields back in place. He pretended it hadn't happened though. "I can walk, you know."

---

He didn't care that he was barefoot. That fact barely registered in his mind. All he knew was that he had to keep going, if he didn't get there in time, something horrible was going to happen... but he wished that he knew what was going to happen. Slamming against a cold surface, the shinigami beat against the glass door that refused to open. He tried the door next to it, and decided to forgo the pleasantries... turning back momentarily, he grabbed a chair and hurled it through the door. Continuing on his singleminded path, Nanjiro ignored the broken glass crunching under his unprotected feet... there were more painful things... painful things that were hurting him right now.

Bloodied footprints were left behind on the concrete and then the asphalt as he darted out, causing an accident when one vehicle swerved to avoid him. Oblivious, or uncaring of anything else around him, the teen still ran.

Nagi buckled his seatbelt as Schu darted around the car to the driver's side. In a way, the boy was glad they had something to do, it kept him from thinking too much.

---

Snagging Draco's arm, Watari sat down on a soft patch of grass... dragging the teen with him into his lap. They'd been walking all morning, and he knew that at least he was tired. There were reasons that he always stayed in a lab. "Let's rest for a bit here..." he said before giving a light kiss just under the reaper's left ear.

"okay." The teen leaned against him. This was quite possibly the most the smaller blond had ever walked in his entire existence. Puss sat nearby, cleaning himself. Their other... companion also sat.

"I think that we might have to take a vacation after our vacation to recover," the older blonde chuckled.

"this is why brooms were invented..." Draco twisted a bit, nuzzling Watari's chest. The kappa smirked.

The kappa smirked. "Awe... isn't that cute?"

Watari sighed. He really didn't know how to react to that shiki, and having him get upset and perhaps leave them lost and alone didn't sound like a very nice proposition to him. Draco stiffened in his lap, turning to glare at the creature. Kano seemed to enjoy needling the boy. The Reaper had already yelled at the kappa three times. Turning him back, the shinigami rested his forehead on the teen's shoulder, "calm down..."

The boy growled, but made an effort to relax against the scientist again. "i'm sorry..."

"You're adorable when you are grouchy..."

"i'd rather be adorable back in that palace... preferably soaking in a tub of hot water, with you..." The last part was whispered, hopefully for Watari's ears only.

"I'm sure that I could find a nice hot spring around for the two of you..." Kano said with a wink.

"You know... frog legs are a delicacy where I'm from."

The shinigami just let himself flop backwards... he couldn't believe Draco just said that. Puss seemed to be laughing, at least he was rolling around in the grass. There was definitely a feline smile on his face. Draco just sat with an innocent expression.

"I think that we've rested enough," Watari claimed, even though he never made any attempt to move.

The Reaper groaned, but hauled himself to his feet. "Shall we get moving before we can't?" He offered a hand to the shinigami. He completely ignored the dumbfounded expression on the kappa's face. Accepting the hand, the older blonde got up to his feet as well and then reached out to Kano with a friendly smile.

The kappa grinned and took the offered hand. Once on his feet, he pulled Watari's hand up and kissed the back of it. "Thank you, kind sir." Draco snarled. Blushing, the shinigami turned back to his partner while thanking the kappa. Irritated beyond his ability to be polite, the teen turned and started to stalk off through the grass in the direction they had been walking. Puss hissed at Kano and jumped to follow his master.

"If we don't get moving now, Draco will get himself lost..." Watari commented with a glance back at the water shiki... still blushing.

The kappa's thumb rubbed over the back of the blonde's hand. "a pity... sometimes it can be fun to get... lost." Frozen, hazel eyes locked onto the green haired shiki's thumb. Kano, still smirking, lifted his hand again. Turning it over, his kissed the inside of Watari's wrist. Then his tongue flicked out, tasting the blonde's skin.

The blonde's heartbeat quickened as he tried taking a step back in indecision over how to react.

Kano took a step forward, gently pulling the shinigami closer. "Awe... why do you want to run off so soon. We finally have some time alone... I thought we could get better acquainted..."

The blond trembled and tried vainly to put some distance between them. "iie..." no force was put into the word as hazel eyes stared over the shiki's shoulder, watching a tree branch swaying in the small breeze.

"Iie? Are you sure? I can make you feel really good..." He stepped even closer, their bodies now close enough that Watari could feel the kappa's body heat.

"let me go..."

Kano let go of his hand, but didn't back up. He leaned closer, as if he was going to kiss Watari. "better?"

The blond's hand remained suspended in the air. "ie..."

Another hand came flying out of nowhere to connect with the kappa's jaw. "He said NO!" Draco was obviously furious. Like a puppet whose strings have been cut, Watari dropped to the ground trembling. The Reaper placed himself in between the two of them. His attention was focused on the kappa, on the threat.

Rubbing his jaw, the shikigami smirked at the teen. "Not bad..."

"Stay away from him." Draco ground out between clenched teeth.

"Are you threatening me?"

"Do you want to find out?!"

"hmmph," Kano flicked a lock of green silken hair over a shoulder.

Silver eyes went flat with anger. "Don't you dare make fun of me!"

"You are challenging me?"

"I'm telling you!"

The kappa's smirk turned into something more dangerous, and the shikigami lunged at the teen with startling swiftness sending both of them into the river that they had never strayed far from. Strong strokes quickly take the two of them to the bottom, and Kano tangled the reaper in some long water vines growing there. Once the slender teen was thrashing about, Kano leisurely swam back to the surface.

Draco struggled with the vines, but the more he pulled, the tighter they tangled about him. He started to panic, he'd never been a very good swimmer. All the water breathing spells he knew required a wand.


	6. Of telepaths and other things

Author's notes:

For all intents and purposes, god's of death from Britain are technically called 'Reapers' instead of 'Shinigami' (makes sense, different culture... different language, hence different name). This fic is a continuation of 'Enter the Reaper' and 'The Reaper's Journey'.

Disclaimer: Yanagi-sen and I are only borrowing the characters from Yami no Matsuei and Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter books to torment for a while... Don't look for Harry to be appearing at any time in this fanfiction. Weiss Kreuz also seems to be making an appearance. Look for Schwarz, and don't expect the flower shop boys to be making any lengthy appearances... hmmm, is it obvious that the authors like the 'bad guys'? We claim no ownership over any character that does not belong to us... Itami Korin and Ishida Nanjiro are mine... those I claim and abuse at will.

The Reaper's Ascent.

Chapter six.

Schuldig cursed silently as they had to make their way through another neighborhood... and Nanjiro ran through yet another house, disturbing its occupants on his insane run.

Nagi was silent beside him, but practically vibrated with worry. "It's not good... is it?"

"He's not stopping... and just scared another family." Schuldig commented while still tracking where Nanjiro was.

"he's not thinking clearly... is he?"

"he isn't... seems that he also just took out a sliding glass door."

Nagi winced. He'd gone through a window before and knew how much it hurt. "do you think we'll catch up to him?"

Schuldig sighed, "He's moving in a straight line... so the only question is, when is he going to drop from exhaustion?"

"hmm..." The boy stared out the window. He wished Brad was there... the precog could have told them where Nanjiro would end up.

Accelerating, the German tried to head the teen off, "He has to come through here in a few moments..."

"Do you think I should try to 'grab' him?" Nagi sat up, looking around intently.

"Yeah, he shouldn't be able to give much of a fight... he's been running straight for several hours now."

"Okay. I'll get him." He took a deep breath, focusing himself. He could feel his powers humming inside, ready to be used once the blue-haired teen appears.

Najiro came crashing through some bushes on their right. Nagi lifted his hand, a habit his instructors had hated but he'd never been able to break, and tried to 'grab' the other boy. The telekinetic could feel his power wrap around the blue haired teen... and then... Nanjiro became as easy to hold as smoke and slipped from his grip. "I can't get him!"

"Then let's see if something at little more physical can stop him..." Leaving the car idling, Schuldig jumped out intent to catch the running teen.

The brunette climbed from the car as well. He'd never lost someone like that... unless they were a more powerful telekinetic. But he hadn't run into anyone like that since his first years of training. The telepath didn't have much luck in grabbing the kid either... as Nanjiro proved that he had some really nasty self defense moves hidden away which coupled with a mental blast were rather effective in letting him continue to wherever he was headed.

Nagi knelt by Schuldich. "Are you okay?"

Coughing, the German was almost surprised that he wasn't bleeding from a couple of those hits. "I'll live... but next boyfriend you get... I'm choosing him for you... this one is a little more dangerous than I like," he smirked at the brunette.

The teen pulled back, looking away. He wasn't sure if he was ever going to have another boyfriend... or even if Nanjiro was his boyfriend. He didn't have time to think about that now. "I'm going after him."

Climbing painfully back to his feet, Schu shook his head. "Get back in the car... it might be safer to continue following... he stopped?"

"What?"

"Get in the car... he's not that far..."

Nagi darted back to the still running vehicle. He hoped Nanjiro was okay.

Taking the Porsche around, they hit a dark haired teen... who rolled off the hood and kept running as though nothing had happened. The brunette gasped. Was everyone going crazy this morning?

Finding a suitable place to leave the car, Schuldig put the vehicle into park, pulled the emergency brake into position and turned it off. Pocketing the keys the German got out and looked in the direction that Nanjiro had been traveling the entire time. "He's not alone anymore."

Nagi climbed out of the car, shutting the door behind him. "He isn't?"

"One person is there with him... and I think that another is on their way as well."

The redhead nodded, "there's at least one more person there, and a third headed towards them." Walking through the small thicket of trees, Schuldig made sure not to lose the youngest member of Schwarz as they came to where Nanjiro and two others were standing. The three teens were all in relatively similar conditions... hair wild, clothes torn in various places from the insane paths taken to reach this particular location. Oddly enough, none was seriously injured.

Not even a glance was offered to Schuldig and Nagi when they came into view. The three just stood there... blinking those unnatural eyes as they took each other's hands and formed a ring.

The telekinetic looked to the redhead, but he had no answers to offer. The brunette cautiously took a couple steps closer.

Releasing hands, the trio turned and sending out their power, a vision appeared on a road that Schuldig hadn't seen. A car, barely visible, flickered in and out of view as the power supporting it struggled to maintain it. The illusionary vehicle drove up the gravel path and finally shimmered out of sight as the three teens withdrew their efforts in supporting it. There were no other roads here... it could only have been going one place. Nanjiro and the boy that was hit by the Porsche started walking first, and the girl followed about a step and a half behind between the other two. Moving almost in formation, the three followed the direction of the road...

Nagi followed as well, at a discreet distance.

After a while, they stopped and looked around curiously, Nanjiro held up his arm and examined it, "The pain..."

The dark haired boy was also looking over his arm as well. "it is..."

"gone." Hugging herself, the girl shivered. "Numb."

Nagi stopped, waiting for Schuldich to come up beside him. He looked up at the older man for a suggestion, but the redhead simply shrugged. Biting his lip, the brunette took a couple steps forward and spoke quietly. "nanjiro?"

Ignoring the sweet voice of his lover, Nanjiro stayed in his place with the other two. Moving forward again... a large building came into view. Another vision appeared as well, two shadowy forms pulled an unconscious girl from the car they had seen earlier. Same as before, the three only collect enough information from the scene before pulling back their power.

/what are they doing, schu?/

/they are picking up on the psychometric traces left behind and making them visible... basically, showing the past... but you need a lot of psionic power to bring it into view they way they are doing.../

/oh... is that why they are working as a team?/

/has to be... but i think that they are struggling at the moment./

/do you think we could help them?/

Schuldig smiled down at Nagi/we can definitely try.../

"Nanjiro!" The brunette ran forward to try to catch up with the small group.

Taking the telekinetic's wrist, the German moved the two of them in front of the trio... Halting, three sets of eyes finally acknowledge the two newcomers. Nagi can feel ghostly tendrils sliding across and through the telekinetic's mind along with voices whispering in confusion over why there is a false north. The brunette shivered, that ghostly feeling through his mind was something he had never gotten used to. "Nanjiro... we can help."

The telekinetic could feel them silently evaluating his power as well as hear the whispered arguments over his taking position as a 'false' north... whatever they meant by that. Centering himself, he called on his gift, not really using it, just holding the power in reserve. His hair started to float a bit, he could feel the currents of energy flowing around his body. "Nanjiro."

They formed a circle again, but this time, Najiro and the other boy held their hands out to Nagi...

The brunette took their hands. Schuldich stepped back, watching intently. Without warning, one of Nagi's eyes started to burn, but the two boys refused to let him go.

Nagi ducked his head, hunching with pain. "My eye!" When the pain subsided, the telekinetic felt... different. Abruptly, Schwarz's youngest member felt himself become engulfed within the other three, pushed down from dominion over his own mind, a comforting haze was cast around the brunette's consciousness as he moved in unison... as he moved as their north.

---

Still struggling against the foliage, Draco felt almost sure that Puss would leap in after him... come on, wasn't that the primary job of a shiki, to protect him? His air was starting to give out, he wouldn't be able to hold his breath much longer. Where were Puss and Watari?!

Above him, up through the water, he could see a form peering down... and then nearly died when the person was pulled back from the river's edge. They weren't coming. It hurt when he realized that. They weren't coming for him. Was this their way of finally getting rid of that 'foreign pest' as Terazuma always called him. His eyes left the light above him to search the river bed. Maybe a rock...

Another thought occurred to him... what if Puss was protecting Watari from that perverted frog? Despair turned to anger. Spying a rock that might work, Draco struggled to reach it. It took several tries before he got it... but finally the rock was in hand.

Feeling as if his lungs were going to burst, he sawed at the vines. His vision was starting to gray... One by one, the vines fell away... releasing the reaper from their entanglement. As the last one parted... Draco swam desperately for the surface. It seemed to take forever until his head broke through and he was able to breath.

He could see Watari running towards the riverbank with a worried expression on his face, and then splashing into the water... Relief flooded through the Reaper, the scientist was okay. He swam weakly towards the bank.

The older blond stiffened when he was pulled from the water by Kano.

Draco saw red again, spying the shikigami's hands on Watari. He finished swimming for the edge hauling himself from the water. Adrenaline surged through him and Draco threw himself at kappa.

Suddenly the teen found himself with an armful of Watari as the scientist intercepted his charge.

"I'll rip him apart! Let me go!"

"Draco... please calm down." the older blond said as he buried his head in the teen's shoulder.

"Did he do anything to you?! Are you okay?"

Watari shook his head, "i'm fine... how about you?"

"I... I..." The Reaper's legs gave out suddenly. "i'm dizzy..."

Catching the teen, the shinigami carried him to the grass and set him down. "Next time you challenge a shikigami... give some warning please... you scared me and Puss when you did that."

"Huh?" Now that the crisis seemed to be past, he acutely felt the chill of the water and the exhaustion of his muscles.

Worried hazel eyes wandered over the slender form of his partner, "you challenged Kano... and he accepted it."

"I did what?" He shivered, curling closer to the scientist.

"You have a new shikigami now..."

"I don't understand..."

Kano knelt before them, and smirked, "It means that I belong to you, the same way that bad fur-rug belongs to you."

"What?" Silver eyes looked at the annoying kappa in confusion.

Green eyes blinked, and the kappa laughed, "Wonderful... you didn't even know what you were doing?"

"I was protecting Watari."

"Challenge a shikigami... and if they accept, we give you a little task to perform. Complete the task, and then you can summon the shiki that you challenged." Kano explained while trying to control his laughter over the situation.

"Little task?! LITTLE TASK?!!! You nearly killed me!"

The kappa smiled 'innocently'... "If you hadn't come up, I would have gone down to get you... shame to accidentally kill off something so cute."

Draco just stared at the shiki, unable to come up with anything to say. Another shiver ran through his body.

---

Nagi nearly became sick from nausea when he was returned to complete awareness. All around him he could smell blood, and even though the connection was cut from the other three, he could feel that it wouldn't take very much to set them all off. He tried to push his nausea away, it wouldn't help and blood generally meant danger. Steeling himself, he looked around.

It looked like they were in some sort of lab... on the other side of the room, where the three... gatekeepers... were, there was a table with a bloodied figure laying on it.

Nagi forced himself to walk across the room. He didn't want to... but he just had to.

The girl on the table was cut open and a couple of her organs were sitting next to her... stomach, kidneys, and a lung were just sitting there. Her eyes were still open, staring up at the ceiling and an expression akin to horror and pain was still etched across what once would have been rather pretty features. Nagi nearly gagged, holding a hand over his mouth. It was awful. Whoever had done this... she must have been alive... at least for part of it.

/Fuck, Nagi... you might want to get yourself and your little friends out of there... fast./ Schulig said from wherever it was that he had gotten to.

/schu? did you see.../

/You have a pack of kitten's headed your way.../

"Nanjiro... we have to leave... company's coming!"

Some recognition was evident in mismatched green eyes, "They killed Sei-chan..."

"no... they wouldn't have... they probably came to get whoever did. We need to leave!" The only door to the room was thrown open and light streamed in making the teens cover their eyes momentarily. /Schu... we've got problems!/

/Shit, don't let the kittens attack... those kids are ready for a fight right now.../

Looking up, the gatekeepers glared at what they considered 'intruders'...

/I don't know if I can stop them./ Nagi turned to face the assassins. "Weiss... stop where you are!" The teen had barely finished with his order when he saw out of the corner of his eye... Nanjiro charging at the assassins. The telekinetic felt his stomach drop when his lover tackled Abyssinian. "Nanjiro!!! Stop... they didn't do it!" He hoped by shouting that, Weiss would listen and pause. He moved to try to grab the blue-haired teen bodily.

Matters were not improved when the dark haired teen took Siberian as his target... and the girl targeted Bombay.

No... no... "NO! STOP!!" He threw out a telekinetic push to hopefully knock them all over.

/They are reacting to the kittens' thoughts... not their actions,/ Schuldig informed as everyone was thrown to the floor. /Dammit... those idiots came looking for a fight, and those kids are giving it to them.../

Nagi exerted a lot of power, trying to just keep them down. /Schu, I don't know if I can keep them apart.../ The gatekeepers shimmered and slipped out of the telekinetic's grip. Nanjiro looked back with a hurt expression, as though wondering why he was being stopped from doing what he wanted. "Nan... they didn't do it... please... you have to believe me..." Nagi pleaded with them, still 'holding' Weiss. His headache was growing but he ignored it. He knew he would be paying a price for this stunt... but so be it.

The girl looked directly at Balinese, blinked, smiled sweetly, and then tried to hit Omi again... but only managed to solidly hit Nagi's forcefield instead.

/wtf?/

The brunette winced, but luckily the shield held. He addressed Weiss directly. "GET OUT OF HERE!!! They think YOU'RE responsible!"

/that reaction to yotan.../ Schuldig sounded as though he didn't believe what had happened, but it did give the red head an idea. Throwing a shield around Siberian's thoughts, the telepath smiled when the dark haired teen took half a step back. /Yo Ken-ken... you have been chosen for a little experiment.../

"Schwarz!" The brunette snarled, but still held in the youngest one's telekinetic grip, he could do nothing.

/Knock it off with the 'schwarz' crap for the moment... the only reason that you are still breathing is because those kids haven't stopped long enough to figure out how to get through the shields that Nagi put around you kitties... trust me, at least the blue haired one has a really nasty sucker punch,/

"So what the hell do we do?"

/First off, you can just think your answers to me... next, I'm going to ask Nags to drop the shield around you... whatever you do, DON'T attack the kid in front of you. All three of those kids are psionics, they aren't reacting to your actions, they reacted to your thoughts, which is why blondie wasn't even looked at./

/reacting to my thoughts... but why did they attack us?/

/You kittens broke down the door, saw the body and started looking for who needed to be attacked... gee, i wonder why they attacked you?/

/they're standing right over the body!/

/Are you going to be a good little kitten, or not? Because those kids can get through Nagi's power, he already tried grabbing them when they attacked you... and you saw how effective that was./ The German was starting to sound a little irritated.

/what do you want me to do?/ Resignation was evident in the brunette's thoughts.

/he's hurt and confused right now... react to him as though he was a victim, NOT an enemy. Don't worry about any violent thoughts setting him off... I'll keep those under wraps for you./

/okay.../ Ken took another look at the boy... saw the pain and confusion and anger in his eyes. He looked over at the body on the table... if they were friends... how would they react after seeing that?

/Nagi... think that you can let kenken go without losing any of the others?/

The delicate brunette had his eyes closed, to better concentrate through the strain. /i... i think so.../

/please see if you can... we might be able to diffuse this entire situation without killing anyone, not that weiss dying off would necessarily be a bad thing./

/okay.../ Sweating with the strain... Nagi released Siberian. He hoped this would work. He didn't think he could 'catch' the assassin again if he had to.

/Yes kitten... this little group here, with the exception of us, seemed to have been very good friends.../ Schuldig nearly whispered into the assassin's mind. /a group of psionics this close and this powerful... they probably felt that little girl's pain as well./

Poor kids... if they felt it... /are you telling me whoever is responsible did that while the girl was alive?!/

/Alive and helpless. That room you are in is so saturated with fear and pain that I can't go near it./

Ken cautiously took a couple steps back. He hoped the kid wouldn't attack again... it would be hard to subdue him in a non-lethal way. The kid stayed where he was... looking a lot smaller and less threatening than he did a few moments before.

"Bombay... Abyssinian... stand down." He continued to back up.

/Yo... Aya-chan... / the German sang into Weiss' leader's mind.

Ran snarled, still fighting the telekinetic hold.

/yeah yeah, i know... 'go to hell... and let me go!' right, koneko-chan?/

/GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!/

All three of the teens cringed, holding their heads in pain.

/Schu... what happened?/ Nagi's eyes flew open, seeing Nanjiro clutching his head.

/the ice-princess yelled.../ Schuldig replied, sounding like he was also in a bit of pain himself... /if he does that again, he might end up with ken's partner going after him too.../ Sighing, the telepath turned his attention back to Ken... /kitten, take the kid that was fighting you outside... being in this room isn't helping and with your leader's pissy attitude, he might decide to help out his little friend in trying to break through that TK shield./

/How am I supposed to take him out of here?/

/don't they give you kittens any classes on how to drag victims out of places? I don't know... take him by the hand and lead him? carry him?/

/you want me to get closer to him?!/

/Yes./ The red head sighed/think of him like any of your soccer brats... okay, so he's older, but still.../

Ken sighed. This was definitely not turning out the way Omi had planned it. He took a couple slow, cautious steps toward the kid. "hey there... come on... lets get you out of this room..."

The boy looked back at the girl on the table, "but sei-chan..."

"I know... I know... we'll take care of her... let's step outside for a minute..."

/Remove your gloves and take him by the hand... you can flood his senses and he should follow you.../

/okay./ He carefully took off his gloves and gently took the boy's wrist. He started to lead the teen out of the room, nodding to Balinese as he passed. "help the others, would you..."

/Look you little shit,/ Schuldig growled into Ran's mind/you saw how easy it was for kenken to just waltz out of this room with that kid? They are NOT the enemies here... these kids are the VICTIMS. Calm down, and quit trying to fight them... /

/how about I come find you?!/ Ran had noticed how easy it had been for Ken. But dammit... there was another kid dead on a table... he wanted to hurt something!

/and that kind of attitude will just make the kid beating on the tk shield, just try that much harder to hurt you./

The swordsman took a deep breath, trying to calm the rage burning through him. To Ran's right he could see Omi and Yohji leading the girl out... Gritting his teeth... he sheathed his katana, lifting his hands to show no aggression. Mismatched green eyes blinked innocently up at him, as though the teen had never tackled him in the first place. That was just damn freaky. He could feel the telekinetic bonds drop away from him. He shot a glance over to the Schwarz telekinetic, the boy looked pale... and maybe even a little green. Given what was on the table behind him, Ran wasn't surprised. He backed up a few steps.

/Take him out of there kitten... /

Nanjiro looked back, and held his hand out to the telekinetic... "nagi?" Green eyes looked tired, and while they had returned to their original colors, had a glassy look to them.

The brunette looked just as tired. He stumbled over, putting his hand in the other boy's. The assassin tensed but didn't make any aggressive moves.

Soon enough they were outside... and Nagi noticed that the teens were nearly collapsed on the grass in the same order that they had moved in... Nanjiro to the east, the black haired boy was west, the girl was south... and north was still vacant, waiting for the young telekinetic to take his place amongst them.

Nagi looked at the members of Weiss... hoping they wouldn't decide to attack him when he was nearly helpless. He reeled over to the trio and let his knees just go. He practically fell, his exhaustion carrying him to the ground.

Strolling out of the building, Schudlig scowled, "Someone should do a little community service and just torch this place."

/schu?/ Nagi really couldn't summon the energy to talk out loud. Now that the emergency was over... he couldn't get the power back up to be worth anything.

The red head for the most part dismissed the fact that they were surrounded by their enemies... hell, if they wanted to beat the shit out of him, that was their choice, and at least now out here away from the insanity from that room, this little group of teens wasn't going to be set off again by the violence. "Some of the shit in there made Rosenkreuz look like a haven... at least the sick fucks there never vivisected a person."

Nagi hunched over, clutching his stomach. /SCHU... don't remind me... oh, I feel sick.../

Kneeling down, the older telepath brushed back his teammate's hair, and decided to tell the teen later that his eyes have changed color. "It's okay chibi..."

/i'm tired... can we go home./ A rarity, Nagi actually sounded his age, like a kid who was tired and didn't feel well.

"Kittykats... keep an eye on this group while I bring my car over..."

Ken nodded. The Weiss assassins were keeping their distance, but watching the situation.

The girl looked towards Nagi, "Wakaba Kannuki... I'm the south gatekeeper of the guardian goddess Suzaku."

"I'm Naoe Nagi."

Nanjiro flopped down and moved over so that his head was in Nagi's lap. "Naoe Nagi... of the north gate... your god is now Genbu."

"Huh?" Nagi's mind wasn't really keeping up too well. He couldn't wait for Schu to get there with the car... and the bottle of migraine strength medicine in the glove box.

The teen that still hadn't been named shook his head with a tired smile, "he's still a false north."

"False or not, he'll become the true north when the time is right." Nanjiro reached into his lover's mind and tried to at least relieve some of the pain. The line between Nagi's eyebrows eases a bit. Eyes, one midnight and one now a brilliant sapphire looked at Nanjiro with thanks.

Schuldig's car came up the small gravel road that the teens had brought to his attention earlier. Driving up onto the grass, the red head pulled up next to the group. The telekinetic looks up at him numbly. /can we go home?/

"Sure chibi..." Looking over at Weiss, Schuldig smirked, "you kittens care to help get these kids squared away in my car?"

"Why should we help you?!"

Ken rolled his eyes. "I'd be happy to help you."

"Because he was able to use you to calm us down when we were ready to kill you..." the girl commented in a tired voice.

The swordsman glared at the redhead, but didn't comment farther. Youji and Omi also stepped forward to help, if necessary.

Youji was directed towards the girl, Ken towards the black haired teen, Omi was pointed at Nanjiro... and Schuldig picked up Nagi as though he were nothing more than a small child. The brunette didn't protest at all, only sighing, he'd been carried a lot today. He slid into the middle of the back seat, leaning back to rest his aching head.

Schuldig snorts when he picks up from Ken that he seems more like a caring older brother than a psychopathic murderer.

Youji easily carried the girl, minus his usual comments and Ken assisted the largest boy, placing him in the front seat. Wakaba sits next to Nagi. All the teens were moved and manipulated almost as easily as ragdolls. Smiling up at Ken in gratitude, Omi let the ex-soccer player take the last teen from him. Once all four were in the car, Schu joined them, making sure doors and seatbelts were set. Weiss just watched them drive off. Nagi lifted his head and winced. "schu... medicine..."


	7. Gatekeepers and winged snakes

Author's notes:

For all intents and purposes, god's of death from Britain are technically called 'Reapers' instead of 'Shinigami' (makes sense, different culture... different language, hence different name). This fic is a continuation of 'Enter the Reaper' and 'The Reaper's Journey'.

Disclaimer: Yanagi-sen and I are only borrowing the characters from Yami no Matsuei and Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter books to torment for a while... Don't look for Harry to be appearing at any time in this fanfiction. Weiss Kreuz also seems to be making an appearance. Look for Schwarz, and don't expect the flower shop boys to be making any lengthy appearances... hmmm, is it obvious that the authors like the 'bad guys'? We claim no ownership over any character that does not belong to us... Itami Korin and Ishida Nanjiro are mine... those I claim and abuse at will.

The Reaper's Ascent.

Chapter seven.

They'd been walking for most of the day... Watari had made sure that he wasn't close to the kappa if could help it. Draco was still glaring at Kano frequently. The shiki on the other hand seemed very amused by the whole situation. Puss had gone off to hunt earlier, hopefully he would return with something they could cook. It was a little disturbing though, how the older blond had refused to talk about what had happened to him... even though it had obviously disturbed him greatly. Unfortunately, without an explanation, Draco's mind had to supply him with scenarios. Each one was worse than the previous and it was getting hard not to simply demand the blond tell him.

The shinigami stiffened when Kano walked by and casually touched his shoulder.

Draco snarled and stepped around Watari, placing himself between the two. "Back off..."

The kappa held up a small leaf that he had picked off the blonde's shoulder, and smirked.

Draco took a deep breath. This was really his fault now... there was no way the kappa would leave them. He glared and slid his hand around Watari's arm. "okay?"

Calming visibly, the shinigami gave the reaper a cheerful smile, "Hei, I'm fine."

"Good... I think Puss is coming back." Bounding through the thicket, the feline shiki jumped into the clearing where they were camping for the night. "Did you find something for us, Puss?"

Three large rabbits were dropped on the ground...

"Did you eat something yourself?"

The small shiki looked up and nodded his head before rubbing up against Draco's legs purring.

"If you want to shift to your other form... I think I can handle it." Switching to his larger size, Puss wrapped his tail around the reaper. Draco was glad he was already sitting on the ground. It wasn't getting any easier, but he was getting used to the power drain. "Thank you for the rabbits, Puss."

"Also saw a hot spring that you might like... not cold like that damned river water..." Puss purred.

"A hot spring... oooh, I could take a bath."

A couple of hours later, after getting a bellyful of smoked rabbit and some more edible greens, Draco slid into the warm water of the hot spring that Puss told him about... It was absolutely sinful, how good it felt. He hated to be dirty, it was a pity there was no soap. At least the water was warm. He sank into the water up to his neck. All around him the sounds of night time animals chirping could be heard.

Draco slipped down farther, ducking his head to wet his hair. It was so peaceful. The teen was so relaxed that at first he didn't notice the hands gently massaging his back. Draco moaned and sat up a bit more, tipping his head forward. "mmmm... feels good..." Rubbing small circles into the sensitive flesh, the hands continued.

He had been so tense lately, this helped immensely. "don't stop..."

Long hair teasingly tickled at his back.

Draco flinched away. "tickles..."

Chuckling softly, the person continued to massage... a hand straying down to cup the teen's ass. The Reaper moaned, leaning into the touch. His own hands drifted back to find some flesh of his own to fondle.

One finger rubbed against his entrance. "Ah!" Draco writhed. This couldn't be Watari... the blond was never this forward... unless the hybrid had broken loose again.

_-censored, insert sex between Draco and Kano here.-_

---

Schuldig looked around the room, and sighed. What the hell was he going to do with this group that he brought back with him? They had all finished passing out during the drive, and the only one that had regained consciousness was Nagi. The brunette was miserable, the medication barely having made a dent in his headache. He was trying to ignore it though, typing away, trying to find out who owned that lab.

Fuck, and Brad was supposed to come home tomorrow...

Nagi swore, very unusual for him and pushed the computer away. He rubbed his forehead and reached for the water sitting nearby. A small moan drew their attention to the futons that had been set out for their impromptu guests. The telekinetic dragged his sore body up and crossed to the blue-haired teen's side. He knelt next to Nanjiro.

Groggy mismatched green eyes peered up at Nagi through heavy lidded eyes, "where..." his voice sounded oddly fragile.

"We're at the apartment..."

Nanjiro smiled weakly up at the brunette, but it still looked as though he was hurting inside, "are you..."

Nagi frowned slightly. "Am I?"

"are you... alright?"

He shrugged. "I have a headache."

"i'm sorry..." the blue haired teen whispered.

"for what?" Nagi stroked the thin shoulder under the blanket.

Hesitantly, the shinigami reached up and lightly touched the skin beneath his lover's lighter colored eye. "so sorry for what... we did to you."

"the headache will go away... it happens when I over-reach my powers."

"same as us, but different... love."

"I don't understand."

"hold me?"

Nagi carefully slid his arms under Nanjiro's shoulders and lifted him enough to slide in behind. He wrapped his arms around the teen. "better?"

The shinigami snuggled closer with a happy but tired sigh. "hai..."

The brunette smiled slightly, carding his fingers through the silky blue hair. "warm enough?"

"hai... thank you..."

"good..." Nagi leaned back against the nearby wall. It was comfortable, sitting like this. For some reason, the drama of the other night wasn't bothering him as much anymore. Maybe it was the horror of the recent events, but it didn't seem as big of a deal now. He yawned.

It wasn't long till Nanjiro found that the brunette had fallen asleep holding him... then again, he was the oldest of the gatekeepers, so it wasn't odd that he would be the first to start recovering... something that in his opinion sucked. /you want something to eat or drink?/ A quiet mental voice interrupted his reverie.

The shinigami smiled, mother hen Schu. /i'm starving.../

/any preferences?/ There was a quiet clang of pots in the kitchen, followed by some nearly silent swearing.

/only that it be edible./

/edible... that I can handle. Gourmet is beyond my skill. Coffee?/

Sighing, Nanjiro slipped out from Nagi's arms. He felt guilty for what they did to the kid... something like this should never have been done. /please?/

/you take anything in it?/

He started towards the kitchen/strong and black... i need to clear my mind.../

/strong and black... coming up./ As the shinigami entered the kitchen, a cup of coffee was held out in his direction. "Here you go." Taking the cup, Nanjiro took a big gulp, ignoring the burning as it went down. "Need aspirin or something stronger?"

"bullet through the head?"

The redhead chuckled. "Somehow I think someone would protest." He turned back to the simple meal he was preparing.

Sitting down at the table, the shinigami let his head hit the hard surface with a loud thump and groaned in pain. It wasn't a couple minutes before a bowl of fragrant food was set before the teen. The aroma of curry rice filled the kitchen. Schuldig could almost imagine kitty ears appearing on the teen as he perked up immediately at the food.

Inhaling deeply, the blue haired boy smiled and picked up his chopsticks, "Itadakimasu."

"I made plenty to eat up." The redhead sat down with his own bowl.

"You're being," Nanjiro said between mouthfuls, "too kind to me."

Schuldich shrugged. "Nagi likes you..."

"You saw what we did to him..." the curry in his bowl was almost gone, and the shinigami was contemplating going over and getting a refill.

"What did you do?"

Nanjiro shook his head, "something horrible... something that should never have been done to someone like him. He still has his entire life ahead of him..."

The telepath snorted. "Entire life... you talk like he's going to live a long, full life like a normal person."

Nibbling on his lower lip, the teen stared nervously into his now empty bowl. "He's going to die on his twenty-seventh birthday..."

"Twenty-seven?! That's longer than I would have thought. Telekinetics tend to burn out very young." Schuldich stood up and grabbed the teen's bowl. He took it back to the stove and refilled it, returning it to the table.

Nanjiro gratefully accepted the refilled bowl. "It's a congenital heart defect that kills him, not his powers."

The man frowned. "Can we get it fixed?"

"Yeah, it can be fixed... "

"Damn... now I know how Brad feels, foreknowledge sucks. It can be... but will it be?"

"That is just his natural death... accidents, suicide and assistance from third parties are not taken into account." With the chopsticks, the teen popped a bite of rice into his mouth.

"Ah... I guess that heart thing explains his delicate health. Is he sleeping again?"

"he's asleep again..."

"Good... he has a hard time sleeping with a reaction headache. He's been up for a couple hours trying to find a name to put with that lab."

Mismatched green eyes went flat. "The owner of that lab is Muraki Kazutaka."

"We'll get on finding info on him. Maybe we'll turn Farfie loose."

Nanjiro snorted, "You want info on him? Black market organ trafficking, illegal medical experimentation, homicide... attempted homicide... torture, rape... want more?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of where he is now, who he's working with or for, and maybe even what his next move might be."

"I'm sure that you can find him on his shift at the Tokyo General Hospital..."

"Good to know." The man frowned and looked toward the doorway. "Someone else is waking up..."

"Aki-kun... He's the second oldest in our group."

"Yo, Aki... come on in, there's food and coffee." Schuldig called out to the newly awakening boy.

A dark haired teen wandered into the kitchen, looking in about as good shape and Nanjiro did. Falling into a seat, his head also connected immediately with the table top. "please tell me we didn't do what I think we did..."

"You mean saddle Nagi-kun with the north gate? Okay... I won't tell you."

"Shit..." Akito commented miserably.

A cup of coffee and bowl of food appeared in front of the newcomer. Sugar and milk were also put on the table. "Here... pain meds are available if you want them."

Akito lifted his head and took the pills. "Thanks... I feel like I was hit by a car."

"You don't look too hot... none of you do."

Nanjiro looked at Akito for a moment. "Vivisection, eh?"

"Blowtorches to the face and genitals are much worse..." The blue eyed teen remarked casually.

Schuldich winced. Even Farf wouldn't be too enthusiastic about that.

"That definitely beats vivisection... and strangulation... but you have to admit that crucifixion might have you beat." Nanjiro chewed thoughtfully on his curry.

Now this was a conversation that Farf would enjoy participating in. Too bad he'd gone out a couple hours ago.

"Did you tell him yet?" Akito asked Nan.

Schu looked from one to the other. "Tell me what?"

Both teens turned bright red, and Nanjiro was the one who finally answered after a few moments of uncomfortable silence. "We have no idea how Nagi will be affected by being one of us..."

"What do you mean?"

"Weeeell, technically speaking..."

"You're going to beat around the bush," Akito interrupted, "Nagi's still alive."

One red eyebrow lifted. "I should hope so, since he's in the other room sleeping."

"Nanjiro, Wakaba and I... we're dead."

---

Yawning, Watari stretched as he woke in the morning. He was certainly getting tired of sleeping on the ground and really wished that he could get back to his bed... he would even be glad to see the cot that he keeps hidden away in the lab. The shinigami looked around the campsite and frowned when he didn't see either Draco or that damn frog. Puss, still in his larger form, was curled up near where the fire had been. There was still some warmth coming from the coals.

Groggily, the shinigami got up and stretched. He was stiff, tired, cold and desperately wanted a hot bath... though he had a sneaking suspicion that the bath would have to wait till they were back in a more civilized location.

The feline shiki lifted his head. He yawned and stretched. "good morning..."

"Good morning Puss..."

"Sleep well?" The shiki seemed to be smirking.

"Absolutely not," Watari replied with a laugh. If he didn't keep a decent sense of humor about this entire situation, he would probably have started screaming by now.

The cat stood and stretched again. "The accommodations do leave something to be desired..."

"I'll have to take that up with the maid service," he winked.

"You do that... and call room service while you're at it. I'm hungry."

Picking up and folding the robe that he had slept on, the shinigami glanced over at the feline. "Any idea where Draco and Kano might be?"

Puss was busy cleaning his paw. "They were down at the bathing pool last I knew..."

"Bathing pool?"

"Yes, there is a hot spring over in the trees... you can see the path right over there."

Nodding, the blonde started in that direction, "Thank you."

Puss looked at him, head titling to one side. Should he warn the scientist? He shrugged, the man would find out soon enough.

Wandering into the clearing near the hot spring, Watari stopped abruptly when he saw Draco curled up in Kano's arms. He knew that he wasn't very active as a lover... okay, so even if he wasn't overly fond of sex, he never really turned the any of the teen's requests down... even if he did like cuddling better... but still... but still... he knew very well that Draco was still physically a teenager and had the hormones to go with the form. He could understand this... Understanding was one thing. Understanding didn't mean he couldn't feel as though his heart had been ripped out from his chest and then stomped on several times.

He couldn't help but notice how the kappa was practically on top of Draco. His arms were wrapped around the boy, legs twined, it almost looked like he was still inside the boy. There were small marks dotting the pale skin, love bites.

A twig broke underfoot when the shinigami took a hesitant step backwards...

The kappa's eyes flew open. He caught Watari's and he smiled lazily. "Draco... Draco-chan... time to wake up..." The smaller blond stirred, silver eyes blinking sleepily.

He didn't want to hear anything... he didn't want to see anything... Understanding and forgiveness were fine, he just didn't have to stay here and watch those two together. Turning, Watari started to walk back to where Puss had been.

"Watari?" Draco's voice still sleepy, the boy never woke quickly. "Watari!" The second time the teen's voice was more alarmed.

Watari didn't turn back... the way Kano had called Draco 'Dray-chan' stuck with him... it was too familiar, they've only been traveling for a few days... Okay, so it was impossible not to call the teen 'Dray-chan' he was too cute to call anything else, but still.

"LET GO OF ME!" The two by the pool were out of sight by now... but Draco's voice still carried.

Reaching the campsite... where he had stayed the previous night, the shinigami went to the river and splashed some cold water on his face; he would have said that it was to wash off the night's sleep, but in reality it was to disguise the tears that were threatening to escape.

It wasn't long before footsteps pounded up the path. "Watari! It's... it's not what you think!"

The older blonde whipped around, he was hurt, what did Draco think that he saw? "I'm not blind Draco... nor am I stupid..."

The boy stood there, clothes askew. "It's just that... that..."

Hazel eyes flattened, "Why not just go back to Kano... I'm pretty sure that he's more responsive than I am anyway..."

Draco shook his head. "no... no... I don't want him!"

"I guess that you shouldn't have challenged him then..."

"I didn't know!" He approached the scientist... hand outreached. "Watari..."

The older blond stiffened, "Don't touch me."

The teen pulled back, stricken. "watari..." His whispered voice was pleading.

Turning, the shinigami walked away from his partner... continuing in the same direction that they had been traveling in, following the river. At the moment he didn't care that he hadn't eaten, later on he would probably hate himself for that... but at the moment he needed some time to think. Telling Draco to leave him alone wasn't an option, since the last time he said something similar... the reaper didn't come back to work for over four days.

The teen just stood there, dumbfounded till the scientist was out of sight.

---

Nanjiro scratched his head and looked at Schuldig curiously. "I think that we broke his mind."

"I'm not broken... just trying to wrap my mind around this idea..."

"Tatsumi is going to kill us for this..." Akito 'complained' as he took another bite.

"It's not a hard concept. All of my ex-boyfriends understood it."

The blue eyed teen scowled, "you and your boyfriends actually makes me wary about having the kid amongst us."

"Why?" Schuldich knew he was being rather blunt, but he'd had a lot of surprises lately.

"I'll just say one thing... we have a list so that we can alternate who gets to go and break up whatever horrible relationship Nanjiro gets himself into... We find that death threats work best."

Schu looked at the blue-haired teen. "I see... will my assurances that Nagi isn't like that in any way help at all?"

Nanjiro blinked innocently back at the redhead.

"Not really. People tend to get jealous after a few years when they realize that Nanjiro hasn't aged a bit, and is still as energetic and lively as the day they met him... but if Nagi does do anything similar to the shit some of Nan's boyfriends did... " Akito cracked his knuckles, "well, I'm next on that list."

"Nagi's only aggressive in defense... it's very difficult for even Crawford to get him to attack. I doubt you'll have to worry about him."

Wakaba poked her head into the kitchen and smiled. Wandering in, she was followed shortly after by Nagi... Schuldich stood, gesturing for the two of them to take the seats. "coffee, tea, food?" The girl asked for tea before taking a seat... and the red head realized that the kids had managed to arrange themselves in the same positions as before...

He set tea before her and Nagi without the boy even having to ask. He would drink coffee, but preferred tea just after getting up. Food was dished out for them as well.

After chatting for a while, Nagi was starting to wonder why these three were talking about getting a new phone for him... and he already had a top of the line laptop, he didn't need another one. And why was Akito-san staring at him. It was making him uncomfortable. He started to push the food around in his bowl rather than eat it. Nanjiro just patted Nagi's hand and told him that Akito used to be with the yakuza before his little accident.

Nagi tried to give the other teen a brave smile, but it was weak. He continued to play with his food, just listening to the others talking around him.

The girl mentioned that the telekinetic needed to have their numbers... as well as everyone elses' just to be on the safe side. Then they went into an argument over whether that included Korin, which Nanjiro said that it didn't since the pyro was a jerk.

Schuldich had excused himself long before, deciding that these were things the four of them had to work out amongst themselves. Nagi sipped his tea. He wondered if the others felt as wiped out as he did. Nanjiro made an offhand comment about the teen getting colored contact lenses so people wouldn't start asking him weird questions... and that, no, they don't feel as wiped out as he did... he's still adjusting to his new position. "Contacts? Why would I need contacts? My eyes have always been blue."

The three teens looked at him for a moment. "Nagi, switch seats with me," Akito said.

The brunette looked at him strangely... but got up to change seats. The dark haired gatekeeper sat down... in the position for the north and watched for the telekinetic's reaction to the change in direction. Nagi felt... off, sitting back down. He didn't feel sick exactly... but just didn't feel right. He shifted uncomfortably. He normally wasn't fidgety, but... he couldn't sit still in this seat. He just couldn't take it... standing up, Nagi started to pace the small kitchen.

Akito switched back to where he had been sitting before and motioned for the young telekinetic to take his seat again.

Nagi sat, breathing a silent sigh of relief. He wasn't sure what was wrong with him.

Reaching over and taking the teen's hand, Nanjiro smiled at the brunette. "You're a gatekeeper now... when the four of us are together, we gravitate towards our gate..."

Nagi's fingers gripped the other teens. His hands had felt cold, Nanjiro's were warm. "Gatekeeper? What's that mean?"

The blue haired teen sighed, this was going to get long and complicated... "Many many years ago the old gods decided that there was no place for them anymore amongst humans and they separated their world, Gensoukai, from ours. The god of death, Enma, gave them refuge in the land of the dead... but since they aren't dead, they couldn't stay there indefinitely..."

"That makes sense..."

"Now, we are the ones who currently guard the gates that go from Gensoukai into both Chijou and Meifu."

"But wouldn't that mean that you would have to be..." Nagi blinked, looking from one to another.

"Would have to be?" Wakaba asked, already knowing exactly what he was intending to ask.

Nagi stared at the cold cup of tea in front of him. "are you... dead?"

"Hai!" All three of them answered, a little too happily for the telekinetic's taste.

The brunette looked at each of them intently. "Really?"

"Did you think that we would look like ghosts or zombies... or perhaps ride an oar like that girl from the yu yu hakusho anime?" Nanjiro laughed.

Nagi blushed, embarrassed. He didn't mean to insult them.

"And you didn't insult us..." Wakaba got up to refresh the tea. "We've all had to come to terms with what happened a long time ago... "

"A long time ago? But you can't be that old..."

It was Akito's turn to look down at the table, "We don't age."

"Oh... I guess that, makes sense." Nagi sighed quietly. He was always the youngest... but with these three... he felt more like a child than ever before.

Wakaba put a fresh cup of tea in front of the telekinetic, "Don't think too much on ages... no one else does. It just causes confusion."

Confusion... yes, he was definitely confused. "But if I'm not... dead. I'm not, am I?" He looked up at Nanjiro, a little fearful.

Nanjiro squeezed Nagi's hand. "If you were dead, we wouldn't be having this conversation here... and I'd be harassing the secretary to see about having you assigned to the block I work in."

"Oh... okay... but if I'm not dead, how can I be this... Gatekeeper?"

The three other gatekeepers exchanged glances before Nanjiro answered, "We're not really sure... you're the only person that's ever become a Keeper without dying first."

"How can I do this? I mean... you must have responsibilities and stuff."

"Well, basically we make it easier for shinigami to summon their shikis... and send people to and from Gensoukai when needed..." Akito muttered.

"How do you do that?" Nagi was getting even more confused.


	8. Challenge in the temple

Author's notes:

For all intents and purposes, god's of death from Britain are technically called 'Reapers' instead of 'Shinigami' (makes sense, different culture... different language, hence different name). This fic is a continuation of 'Enter the Reaper' and 'The Reaper's Journey'.

Disclaimer: Yanagi-sen and I are only borrowing the characters from Yami no Matsuei and Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter books to torment for a while... Don't look for Harry to be appearing at any time in this fanfiction. Weiss Kreuz also seems to be making an appearance. Look for Schwarz, and don't expect the flower shop boys to be making any lengthy appearances... hmmm, is it obvious that the authors like the 'bad guys'? We claim no ownership over any character that does not belong to us... Itami Korin and Ishida Nanjiro are mine... those I claim and abuse at will.

The Reaper's Ascent.

Chapter eight.

After Watari had walked out of sight, the young reaper had started running... away from his lover, away from his shikis... away from everything that he knew. It would hurt too much to be rejected again like that. The older blonde had been the first person to make him feel truly wanted... truly loved... truly needed. Now he had thrown it all away for what? Was he that pathetic and weak-willed that a little attention erased any choice he had over his actions? Tears started to blur his vision as he tripped over an exposed tree root. He scrambled back to his feet, running again through the dense jungle. He just had to get away. Watari deserved better than him. Puss should find a better master. Kano... Kano could just go back to his river.

It would have been better if Watari had never saved him when his father attacked... He was his father's son... as much as he tried not to be. Draco sobbed, he tripped again and ended up sprawled headlong on the jungle floor.

Behind him, he heard a hissing sound.

The boy curled into as tight a ball as he could. He hoped if whatever he tripped over was dangerous, that it would just eat him quickly. Something curled around him and chuckled. Draco gasped, out of breath from his run, falling, and crying. He whimpered.

The creature gently patted his head. The teen turned his head, cautiously. Maybe this was a creature that liked to go for the throat... It took Draco a few moments to realize that whatever had him, didn't seem to have any intentions of eating him... at least for the moment.

He carefully opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed were the scales, then brilliantly colored feathers. He followed the curving, sinuous body till he looked into the jewel eyes of a large serpent.

---

Sitting at the edge of the stream, Watari shivered. He shouldn't have spoken like that to Draco. At the very least, he should have let the teen know that kappas are very capable of producing strong pheromones... He knew the boy was very physical. With awareness lulled by the warm water, once the kappa got his hands on the teen... Draco hadn't stood a chance.

Pulling his hair back, the shinigami knelt over the water and splashed some on his face.

In all honesty, the kappa himself can't even be held entirely accountable. Shikigami simply didn't have the same concerns or problems with sex. However, Kano was old enough that he should have given them some consideration. He had to get back and apologize to Draco... it hadn't been his fault, and knowing his partner, he was probably blaming himself for everything. Giving his face one more splash, Watari dried it off on his sleeve. He turned to head back to where they had spent the night. If Draco had decided to start moving, he would meet him along the way.

---

Staring up at the serpent, Draco tried to make sense of what had just happened... did that thing just, challenge him? "I'm very sorry... I've had a... stressful morning. Could you repeat yourself?"

"I do not appreciate having to repeat myself... but in this case, I will. I said that I challenge you."

This morning was going from difficult to surreal. "You're challenging me? Why?"

The serpent sniffed, "seems that you may be able to handle at least one more."

"But... I'm nothing special." A part of him was flattered though... and a bit hopeful. Here was a snake... well, kind of. He still had his affinity for serpents; he was a Slytherin after all.

Tsking, the shiki looked him straight in the eye, "Such little confidence from one with such potential... "

"May I ask... what are you?"

"I am a coatl."

"Ah... my name is Draco... Draco Malfoy."

"Little Dragon, I am Citlalcóatl."

The teen nodded his head politely. "It is an honor to meet you."

"My challenge to you is a simple one..." the coatl started.

Draco shivered inside. His last two challenges hadn't been the most pleasant... or easy.

Large wings fluttered, "retrieve the feather that I lost."

"You lost a feather?" The teen looked around at the dense undergowth. Even with as bright as the feathers were... it would be nearly impossible to find a single feather.

Shifting position, the serpent glided up into the air. "To the south there is a temple... it is in the highest tower."

"South..." Draco tried to guage direction... and failed. "Um... which way is south?"

Citlalcóatl turned to face the direction that the teen had originally been running towards, "that way."

"Thank you. You wish me to retrieve this feather for you?"

"Yes."

"Is there anything else I need to know?"

"I would only suggest that you try not to get yourself killed..."

"Gee... thanks." Draco sighed and started to head back into the jungle.

---

Unlocking the door, Nanjiro let Nagi into his apartment for the first time... "Sorry it's a little small, but it's all I can afford for the moment.," he apologized.

The brunette smiled shyly. "I don't have anything so..."

The shinigami stretched. "I need to get changed and then I have to go check up on a friend's house, feed the pets, water the plants..."

"Okay..." Nagi just looked around the room.

The furniture in the apartment looked like it might be that cheap pressed wood... something that Brad would never have allowed to even pass through the door of their penthouse. Here and there were items that repairs had been made on, he could only imagine that those had been salvaged from the street. The other thing that the telekinetic noticed was that there was an absurd number of framed photographs and plants scattered around the place.

Still... it was obvious that this was a home. Sometimes Nagi felt like he was living in a museum. Even his own room didn't feel like HIS. In reality, Nagi didn't own anything. Everything that he possessed had been given to him.

Sitting on one shelf, the teen's attention was drawn to the photos displayed there. In all of them there were four people, and in all, Nanjiro was present... In each photo, one person changed, Akito, then a girl with pink hair (he didn't want to recall her body lying on that table filled with blood and fear forever stamped across her features), finally Wakaba... everyone in the same position, facing the direction of their gate.

They obviously had known each other for a long time... he was an outsider.

Moments later the shinigami came back out looking somewhat refreshed and dressed in fresh clothes. "Quit being so negative... you're not an outsider anymore."

Nagi ducked his head, embarrassed at being caught thinking such thoughts. "i'm sorry... you just all look so... together."

"We've all seen the worst that life has to offer," Nanjiro explained, "you've also seen and experienced horrible things... you're going to fit in with us just fine."

Nagi looked up, still a little uncertainty in his eyes. "You're sure?"

The blue haired teen picked up a set of keys, "Positive... though, if you want to get in good with Wakaba-chan... there is a temple that you could photograph for her... last person I sent there had no idea how to use a digital camera and all the photos came out blurry."

"I'd be happy to help."

They walked out the door and the teen locked his apartment up, "You remember the guy that was killed... as well as his kids and that we were messing around with the legal guardianship of the youngest son?"

"Yeah... how did that all turn out?"

Nanjiro jingled the keys, "it turned out cool... though, I don't think that Taka is all too happy about not being able to come back for the funerals."

"Oh."

"The place that I'm looking after is Taka's uncle's house..."

"Ah... his uncle... I thought he had no family... oooooh... I understand."

The blue haired teen grinned at Nagi and continued ushering the telekinetic down the hallway and out of the building. "Watari is in charge of the medicenter... really nice guy. So there was no way that I could leave his nephew to be prey to the evil incarnate that is his stepmom..."

"I'm glad it worked out then."

---

Watari glared at the Kappa... "Where is Draco?"

The shiki shrugged. He continued to wring out his green hair. "I don't know... last time I saw him, he was following you from the bathing pool."

"I... needed some time to think..." The shingami blushed.

"Hmmm... well, I went for a swim."

Watari crossed his arms, "and Puss is also gone..."

"Probably went hunting." The kappa stood and stretched.

The shinigami snorted. Puss was also missing... so it was probable that the feline shiki was with Draco. At least he hoped that was the case.

The kappa's eyes lit up suddenly. "So... if both of them are gone... do you want to keep moving or wait here?"

"Wait here... this is the place that it makes the most sense for them to come back to."

"You look tense..."

"I am."

The shikigami stepped up to the blond. "Sit and relax... this journey will be harder if you're tied up in knots."

"Wakatta..." Surprisingly enough, the shinigami didn't jerk away, and for the most part seemed to be trying to ignore the kappa.

"Come here... the grass is softer." Kano led him to the side of the stream. Sitting behind the blond, he started to gently rub the tense muscles of Watari's neck.

Relaxing slightly, the shinigami let his head drop forward with a small sigh.

The kappa dug a little deeper into the muscles, finding the knots and tension and trying to work them away. He concentrated on keeping his movements soothing and gentle.

"how can you seem so unconcerned about dray-chan?" Watari asked, already starting to sound a little drowsy.

"he'll be fine... he's stronger than he thinks... and that cat is probably with him..."

The shinigami nodded his head, "sou desu..."

Kano leaned closer, his breath ghosting across the back of the shinigami's neck.

Shivering at the sensation, the blond gave a half hearted attempt to turn and face the shiki. Before he could twist fully, the kappa dropped a quick kiss to the back of the shinigami's neck.

"dame," the blond whispered...

Kano pulled away entirely. "very well." The blond looked back at the shiki with large hazel eyes.

"What do you want?" His tone was surprisingly gentle.

"i don't know..."

"may I kiss you?"

He knew that he shouldn't... "hei..." Kano leaned closer again and lightly kissed the blond on the cheek. Tilting his head slightly, the shinigami let himself study the shiki's features. Kano just sat there, waiting. Hazel eyes blinked for a moment, but the blond didn't make a move to put any distance between them.

"I ask again... what do you want?"

The shinigami trembled slightly, "i don't know..." his voice came out hesitantly.

The shikigami smiled kindly. His hand came up to cup the side of the blonde's face. He pulled him close enough to kiss the scientist full on the lips.

Closing his eyes, the blond slowly started to respond.

Kano kept the kiss light, breaking it off to slide his lips along the pale neck. He nuzzled gently.

"why..." the shinigami started, but the rest of what he was going to say was lost in a gasp.

"Hmm?" He licked a spot just behind the blonde's jaw.

Watari shook his head, "i don't know anymore..."

"then stop thinking..." The kappa wrapped his free arm around the shinigami's back, drawing him closer.

---

Stumbling through the dense jungle, Draco was almost surprised when he finally arrived at the temple that CitlalcÛatl had indicated. Now all he had to do was avoid getting killed as he got that feather from the highest tower... He was astonished by the appearance of the structure. It wasn't like the 'towers' in England, or even like the Asian buildings he had seen. There were several structures that looked more like flattened pyramids than anything else. They rose out of the jungle almost as if they had grown there.

There was a broad avenue between the buildings, leading to the farthest temple. It looked to be the tallest. Draco headed between the other pyramids, looking about warily. On several of the buildings he could see intricate wall carvings as well as a few serpent sculptures.

He jumped, hearing something scream in the jungle. He sighed with a bit of relief, monkeys. A whole troop of them where watching him from one of the trees. He closed his eyes for a moment, breath... just breath...

The reaper almost didn't feel the small sharp prick in his side. He jumped, thinking some annoying insect had stung him. Twisting, he could see a small shaft and feather sticking out of his clothing. Frowning, he reached down and pulled it out. A dart! A dart with a very slender, dark tip, looked like stone. He looked forward to all the steps he'd have to climb. This wasn't good... not good at all.

---

Watari shivered in Kano's arms... at some point he had lost most of his clothes. In the back of his mind a small voice was screaming at him that he shouldn't be here, that he shouldn't let the kappa be touching him like this...

_-Censored, insert sex between Kano and Watari here.-_

Watari nearly collapsed on top of Kano. Rolling to the side, he curled up against the shikigami and sighed sleepily.

The kappa smiled and tugged the robes up over the blond. This could be a fun period of service...

---

Draco felt hot and sticky as he climbed the last of the steps. Even the breeze that had cooled him off before wasn't helping him now. The final step felt like he'd climbed a mountain. At the top there was a small building, partially open to the elements. Inside he could see what appeared to be a stone altar... and floating above it, suspended in the air, was what looked like a single feather.

The teen wasn't sure, but he thought that he could see a young man watching him...

It hadn't hurt much initially, but now the place where the dart had scratched him was starting to ache. Hand to his side, he started forward, casting his eyes about for more traps. While searching for traps, he tripped over a broken tile. Draco caught himself heavily on his hands, swearing in English. This was the last time he let Watari pick the vacation spot.

Sluggishly, he pulled himself back to his feet.

The feather... he had to get the feather... then... he couldn't remember what was supposed to happen next. The feather... that was his goal. He blinked rapidly, he must have gotten dust in his eyes, they didn't want to focus right. Draco stumbled into the room...

The feather hung before him, shimmering in the low light. He stepped up to the altar, reaching for the talisman. As his fingers touched the shaft, the enchantment holding it in the air broke. Numb fingers were somehow able to grab the feather as it fell. Draco smiled and staggered back a couple steps.

Strong arms caught the lithe teen before he managed to hit the floor.

Hazy silver eyes looked up at the person who had grabbed him. All he could see was white hair... and red... and the most intense emerald eyes

"Shhh... rest now little shinigami... you have earned it."

"watari... where..."

Hair plastered to his forehead was brushed back by a cool hand. "just rest for now..."

He was worried and wanted to demand where his partner was... But his body just wouldn't listen. Draco fell into a restless sleep.


End file.
